Gravity
by Ongaku Neko
Summary: Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!" UlquiHime
1. Chapter 1

I can't stop with the ideas. Here is another fan fiction for Ulquiorra and Orihime, this time it's an AU, but they still have powers and Ulquiorra is still an Arrancar. The world around them is completely different though.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 01**

"Brother, no!"

Explosions and screams could be heard in the background. Fire seemed to be everywhere. It was so hot and so horrible and the stink of dying bodies was overwhelming.

"Listen to me Orihime, it will be okay. As soon as I wake up I will come and get you."

The young woman's eyes brimmed with tears. "I don't like the idea of this. What if you never wake up or what if I wake up first?"

"Orihime," The young man began, "Don't ever say that. We will meet again. I promise."

Orihime nodded at her brother and got into the capsule. "That's a promise?"

"Of course it is. This will keep you safe and you won't have to be awake to see the world change."

Orihime looked around the capsule as she laid down in it. The technology had never been approved so she wasn't even sure it would work. "I trust you, Brother."

"That's a good girl, now close your eyes and have a good sleep."

Orihime did as her brother said and closed her eyes. She heard the click of the capsule being closed and then there was nothing else but darkness.

* * *

"Come on Ulquiorra, fight me!"

Ulquiorra ignored Grimmjow and continued to walk by.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, you depressing clown!"

Ulquiorra stopped at the insult and turned to look at Gimmjow. "Don't waste your energy on stupid and pointless battles, trash."

Grimmjow jumped up on the rock he was standing next to. "I think you are just too afraid to fight me."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes and scoffed. "Hardly."

"Come on! Just a little fight?" Grimmjow bounced around on the rock or to be more precise, the rubble.

The weight of his jumps must have been too much for the unsteady structure that it began to fall apart. Grimmjow grabbed onto the pole that was sticking out to keep from going down with the rubble.

"You are such an idiot." Ulquiorra was about to walk away when he noticed something strange.

A white tube was sticking out and there was a dim, blinking, red light coming from it.

Gimmjow followed his gaze and jumped to the ground. "Not another one of those!"

Ulquiorra walked up towards the tube and studied it carefully.

"Why do you even care? Those pathetic humans thought those stupid things would save them, but all it did was kill them. Every single one we found had a rotting corpse in it."

Ulquiorra touched the tube and was surprised to find it was warm. "Yeah, but this one is different. There is a light and the tube is warm."

"What?" Grimmjow looked surprised and came to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, the tube felt warm and the small glow was barely blinking.

"Do you think whatever's inside is still alive?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. "That's the general idea."

"Aw, man! What if the thing is so old inside that it dies as soon as we open it up? That would be so gross."

Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow and saw him grimace. "You are being stupid. You kill humans every day and yet you get grossed out by an old human?"

Grimmjow just snorted. "You bet'cha!"

"Why do I even bother talking to you?" Ulquiorra looked around the tube to try and find a way to open it but there seemed to be no buttons or handle. "That's strange."

"What is?"

Ulquiorra looked straight down at the tube. "There doesn't seem to be a way to open it."

Grimmjow grabbed for the tube. "There is always a way, let's break it open!"

Ulquiorra grabbed Grimmjow by the arm to stop him. "Don't be an idiot; whatever is inside is probably fragile."

Grumbling, Grimmjow put it back down. "I don't know why it matters. It's just going to be another worthless human."

Ulquiorra looked Grimmjow in the face. "It might just be another human, but if it is still alive then there must be something about it. Plus, it might have something interesting to tell us about the past."

Grimmjow sat down on a pile of rubble nearby, laughing. "There you go again, you and your stupid curiosity about the past."

Ulquiorra choose to ignore Grimmjow's comment and placed both his hands on the warm tube. With his reiatsu he tried to figure out what was inside of it but to his surprise the tube made a loud release noise, as if a gush of air was being let out.

The tube's first layered opened up and it revealed a young and beautiful girl, incased in a strange liquid.

Ulquiorra took in her features, she had long and flowing orange hair and light skin, but it looked full of life. Her cheeks were rosy and her face looked smooth and peaceful. He knew right away that she was far from being dead; nothing could preserve a human so well otherwise.

Grimmjow walked up to get a better look. "Hot damn, take a look at those breasts!"

Ulquiorra sighed. "I thought you said it would be just another worthless human."

"Yeah, well, maybe she is, but at least she is a hot one!"

Ulquiorra continued to look down at the sleeping girl, wondering how he was going to get her out. He had no idea how long he had been staring at her until he realized that her eyes where open and filled with terror.

It caught him off guard so he pulled back a bit, which turned out to be a good thing because then the girl thrashed and ripped through the thin film that was covering her. She came out of it screaming at the top of her lungs. Ulquiorra, knowing that would attract some unwanted attention, clamped his hand over her mouth.

The girl looked at him and tried to get away but Ulquiorra grabbed her arm.

"Be quiet, you will put yourself in even more danger."

The girl nodded her head so he let go. She continued to look at him with a confused expression on her face. He was a slim man, but seemed to be very strong. His hair was jet black and face was pale white, which only seemed to emphasize the bright green eyes he had.

On top of his head laid a strange bone helmet that only seemed to cover part of his head.

On his pale cheeks were dark teal marks running down from his eyes. They looked so much like tear drops that she couldn't help but wonder why he was so sad.

Even with all those strange things, the thing that stood out the most about him was the hole that went right through his chest. She could see right through his body! There was no way he could be alive.

She then turned to look at the man behind him. He had bright blue hair, which was not a normal color for humans, so she wondered if he dyed it. Instead of a bone helmet he had a bone cheek, it was a strange sight. His eyes flickered gold with sparks of curiosity. Her eyes continued to stare him down until she saw the same kind of hole in his body, only it was lower, in the middle of his abs.

She turned to make a run for it, but as soon as she did she finally noticed her surroundings.

Everything was dead and so bleak. The only wind that came through was stale and hot, nothing was left except for rubble and sand. In the sky held a broken moon and a faint sun.

"Where am I?" she finally managed to squeak out, deciding to trust the people who found her.

"You're on Earth, stupid Human." Gimmjow seemed to find her question funny.

Her eyes widened and then panic came. "My brother! Where is my brother?" She looked around desperately but all hope was lost when nothing looked familiar to her.

A hand grabbed her on the shoulder. "Don't go running off or you will die. You're brother might be with the other humans, but most likely he is dead."

The young woman turned to the strange looking man and tried to hold back her tears. "But, he promised me. He promised he would be there when I woke up."

"Woman, the year is 2450. When did you live?"

Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

"What is your name?" Ulquiorra tried to have patience in his voice. He didn't want to scare her just yet.

She looked at him as if trying to decide if she should tell him. "It's Inoue, Orihime Inoue. You?"

Ulquiorra decided it was only fair that he tell her his name. "Ulquiorra Cifer, and this trash behind me is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

"What are you?"

"We ain't human, if that's what you mean." Grimmjow sat down, getting bored with the turn of events.

"We are Hollows, or to be more precise, we are Arrancars." Ulquiorra knew she wouldn't understand but said it anyway.

"Hollows? Arrancars? What?" Orihime grasped her thin robe in confusion.

"Yeah, but don't get us mixed up with the other human-like Arrancars. We are powerful and are known as the Espada." Gimmjow stood up and showed a mark on his back. It read the number six. "I'm the Sexta Espada, that emo clown is the Quarto Espada."

Ulquiorra glared at Grimmjow.

"What? She was bound to find out sometime or another."

Orihime was starting to feel self-conscious in her little outfit when she noticed Grimmjow's eyes were staring intently at her breasts. She wrapped her arms around herself and crouched back down in the tube.

"You said other humans? So there are others like me?"

"Well, not exactly like you. They have lived their lives in this world. You are the only one we have found to be living in one of these tube things."

"Capsule."

Ulquiorra gave her a questioning look.

"It's called a capsule, it was something created to try and preserve mankind in case of disaster."

"I see." Ulquiorra placed his hand up to his eye. "I assume you can figure out what happened if you are inside that thing."

Orihime nodded. "Yes, somewhat, it was terrible really. The moon exploded, I have no idea why and people were dying all around because of natural disasters."

"There is more to it then that actually. The moon didn't just blow up on its own. A foolish human did it. The event brought upon us, the Hollows and Arrancars. We become Arrancars by eating other Hollows and then taking on a form that is more human except for the small amount of bone left on our head and the hole through our bodies"

Orihime's face paled. "Cannibalism?"

"You could call it that, but we are nothing more than dead beings and corrupt souls."

Grimmjow tossed a rock and grumbled. "What are we, teachers? Why don't you tell her the good part, like how we eat humans too."

Orihime looked from Grimmjow's face to Ulquiorra's. "Is that true?"

"Yes, but we don't tend to eat just any human, only the ones with a strong reiatsu, kind of like a powerful soul."

"Are you going to eat me?" Orihime frowned, thinking that it might not be so bad to be eaten instead of having to live in this awful new world.

"No, your soul seems worthless."

"Yeah, it would probably taste yuck, plus, it would be more fun to toy with you."

Orihime was scared but she couldn't help herself. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

Grimmjow slapped his knee in amusement. "Very funny, you're a mouthy one. Too bad we aren't going to eat you."

"Shall I show you our world?" Orihime looked at Ulquiorra in awe as he reached for his face and then she gasped when his fingers entered his eye socket and emerged with his eye. It made a sickening noise, wet and ripping but he didn't seem bothered by it, as if he felt no pain.

"What are you doing?"

"My eye is all-seeing." He then put the eye in his hand and crushed it. Dust spun around and around until she started to see images.

She watched in horror as she saw people running from these horrible monsters. Then she saw more Arrancars, they came in all shapes and sizes just like the humans but some of them had awful tempers. She saw a huge one attack a simple servant and Gimmjow was laughing strongly while he was killing another Arrancar that looked female but proved to be male.

It would have amused her to know that they even had cross dressers in their species if the Arrancar wasn't screaming in pain and anger.

As the picture began to fade Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. "What was that?"

"My memories."

Orihime blinked. "What about your eye?"

Ulquiorra stared at her as if she grew another head. "I have fast regeneration."

Sure enough, his eye was already starting to heal.

Orihime was just about to ask what they planned to do with her when a loud roar could be heard in the distance.

"Damn it, they sensed you." Ulquiorra walked up towards to Orihime.

"They?" she was starting to get sinking feeling in her stomach.

"The mindless hollows that like to eat anything they can find. Human, that is."

Orihime stood up quickly. "What do I do?"

"Why should we care? I'm leaving, this is boring." Grimmjow took off and was gone before Orihime could even blink.

"Please don't leave me." She glanced in Ulquiorra's direction and almost felt like it was a lost cause when he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and took off to who knows where.

* * *

Orihime stood in a huge room. Despite being hot outside, it was freezing inside. The little outfit with thin material did nothing to help. Shivering, Orihime looked up to see what was going on.

A strange man was looking down at her with a cold smile. He had light brown hair and dark eyes, eyes so dark and cold that she could have sworn he was soulless.

Standing to his right was another strange man, his eyes where slit and his face was smiling slyly.

To his left, stood a tall and dark man, he wore a blindfold over his eyes which made her wonder if he was blind.

"So, your name is Orihime."

She nodded her head and then grabbed her arms when she felt like she was being crushed under a lot of pressure. Doing her best, she tried to stay standing but failed miserably as her legs gave out and she came crashing down.

"I'm so sorry."

The pressure was gone and Orihime looked around to see all the monsters snickering, except for Grimmjow, who looked bored, and Ulquiorra, who didn't even have his eyes open.

"I just had to test you and see how strong you are." He then began to laugh, which sent shivers down her spine.

"My name is Aizen, and I'm the ruler of this new world." Orihime looked at him with confusion. She had to take in a lot this day.

"You're the strongest Arrancar?" Orihime was afraid to ask but she couldn't help herself.

More laughter could be heard.

"Not at all, dear. I'm human, just like you."

Orihime cringed once again.

"Well, maybe not like you. I have strength and power, and the Arrancars and Espadas are my army."

"Army? For what?"

"To keep those weak humans in there place."

Orihime didn't understand at all. If he was human - and a strong one at that - shouldn't he want to help his own kind?

"Ulquiorra."

Orihime turned to look at Ulquiorra again. He had his head down and was bowing.

"Hai."

"Put her in one of our uniforms. In fact, I have the perfect one in mind. Then take her to the human town."

Orihime was confused. Why was he going to put her in one of their outfits? She looked around and noticed that all the people, or monsters, in his army where wearing white suits, all tailored and cut different, with black trimming.

Ulquiorra started to walk out the large doors that lead into the room. "Follow me, Woman."

Orihime took one more glance at Aizen and then quickly followed him out.

Once they were out of ear shot of any of the other beings, Orihime decided to start asking questions.

"Why would he want me to wear what you guys wear? I'm not an Arrancar."

Ulquiorra ignored her for a long enough time until they reached smaller doors. He pushed them open and walked in, not waiting for Orihime to follow.

Inside was one outfit. It was very simple and very modest. It would show no inch of her skin as the thing covered her from the chin down to her feet. Next to the dress was a pair a black boots.

Orihime had a puzzled look on her face. How on earth did they have an outfit just for her when they have never met before?

"The outfit was prepared for a special reason; I have no idea why he thought you should wear it. As for putting you in one of our outfits, it's to show that you belong to us and may be one of us."

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra and reached for the dress. She walked towards the curtains and began to put on the outfit. It was a perfect fit, which just amazed her.

"That surprisingly looks good on you."

Orihime gasped when she heard Ulquiorra voice right behind her. She wondered just how long he had been there and began to blush.

"What did you mean by you didn't understand why Aizen-sama would want me to wear this? Perhaps he just thought it would be a perfect fit. What was it supposed to be for?"

Ulquiorra stared at her for a long time. She was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Orihime only nodded, getting that sinking feeling in her stomach again.

"It's meant for his queen."

Orihime fell back in shock. "His queen? Do you think he is planning to make me his queen?"

Ulquiorra took her by the arm and started to lead her out of the room. "I doubt it, but since you are from the past he seems to have a bit of interest in you. Plus, I have a feeling he thinks you might be someone important."

Orihime didn't understand all that was going on, but decided not to ask anymore because he was starting to get impatient with her.

* * *

Orihime was once again in Ulquiorra's grasp, but it was in no way romantic. He handled her like a sack of potatoes.

"Do you think you could carry me a little nicer?"

He said nothing and Orihime grunted. "Fine, just ignore me."

The speed they were traveling at was amazing. She had never moved so fast, not even in a car. It reminded her a bit of a roller coaster, only it had no thrill and for some reason she didn't feel the intense wind, almost like he was blocking it with a strange power.

After about ten minutes of being held, they landed and Orihime struggled to be let go. Her whole side was starting to hurt, including her back.

In one of her hands she had a brown package and in the other a water bottle. When Aizen saw her again he told her that they would be bringing her back from time to time and keeping a watchful eye on her. Then she was handed the food.

It was really strange the way she was being treated and she wondered if it would ever make sense to her.

A loud clang brought her back out of her thoughts. Orihime looked around until she heard a man's yell. "Arrancar! An Arracnar is here!"

She heard the slamming of doors and the hustle of many feet.

"This is where I take my leave."

Orihime spun around to try and catch him and ask him what she was supposed to do next but he was already gone.

"Great, just dump me and leave me vulnerable."

She began to walk towards the village when a swarm of angry men circled her.

"Get out of here, you filthy Arrancar!"

Orihime froze. She didn't think about that. She should have known the outfit would make them think she was one of the monsters.

"I'm not an Arrancar."

"Like we can believe you! You are covered in head to toe and your bone could be hidden on your neck."

"No, I was, well the outfit is hard to explain but I'm not one of them. I can prove it." Orihime began to unzip the top part of her dress to show she had no bone on her head.

"Traitor!" Orihime turned to the direction of a young woman yelling.

"You wear the outfit of the queen!"

Orihime's eyes widened, so they already knew.

Before she could explain anymore she was hit by a rock. She looked around to try and figure out who did it but it was pointless because before long she was getting hit by many rocks.

"Please, stop! I'm not a traitor, I swear!" Tears began to fall from her eyes from the pain and from anger.

Just when she thought she was done for, a strong male voice boomed from the back. "Stop this at once!"

The rocks stopped hitting her and the crowd split up to let a young man with bright orange hair walk through.

Orihime looked at him in awe and her heart began to pound.

He reached down and held out his hand. "Are you alright?"

Orihime was so stressed out from the day's events that she could help herself. She grabbed him and began to sob into his chest.

"There, there, it's okay now." He patted her awkwardly but didn't push her away.

He then picked her up and began to carry her towards his home. The crowd just watched and then slowly began to break apart to continue the rest of their day.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	2. Chapter 2

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I felt the need to write an Ulquiorra/Orihime fanfic that actually had a plot and not just filled with emotional trauma, haha.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 02**

Orihime relaxed on the bed made out of straw and some kind of animal fur. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but it was better than nothing.

Her body was in pain from the rocks, but she knew most of the pain stemmed from the chaotic events. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"How are you doing?"

Orihime turned her attention to the young man that had saved her. He was very kind but Orihime couldn't understand why he would let a total stranger into his house.

"Why did you save me?" She sat up to look at the boy in the eyes.

He turned to a drawer and pulled out a jar and some cloths. "Well, first of all, I'm a doctor in training. Second, I don't believe you deserved that without some explanation."

Orihime eyebrows scrunched together at the use of his words. "You mean, if I am a traitor you will throw me back to the wolves?"

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." The young man came closer and dabbed one of the cloths in the jar. "This is going to sting a little but it will help keep them from getting infected."

Orihime nodded and closed her eyes. He was right; it did sting, but not just a little.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, what is yours?"

Orihime smiled. He was trying to take her mind off the pain with small talk. "Orihime Inoue."

"That's a pretty name, Inoue-san."

Orihime blushed at the compliment, she had never been told that before. Well, besides by her brother.

"Are you all alone?" Ichigo finished up with the cleaning of the wounds and was now dressing up some of the more serious ones.

"I..." Orihime wasn't sure what to tell him. "Yes."

Ichigo looked up at her face to see it filled with sorrow. "I guess that was a stupid question."

Orihime just shook her head. "No, it's all right, you never know. Thank you for cleaning me up and stopping those people."

Ichigo stood back up once he finished the last bandage. "I just wish I had gotten there sooner, it's a shame to have such a young woman's skin all scarred up. Thank goodness you were wearing that dress that covered you or it could have been a lot worse. Can't say much for the dress now though."

Orihime winced at the _young_ woman comment. In a way, he was right, but if he knew the truth he might not being saying that.

"I have to ask though," Ichigo walked towards a chair in the corner and pulled it up close to the bed. "How did you get here? It's odd enough that you are wearing the outfit of our enemies but there isn't another human town within miles of this one. There is no way you could just walk here because of the Hollows."

Orihime thought hard about what to tell him. She looked into his eyes and saw the warmth in them. Deciding he was probably the most trust-worthy person she could find she took another deep breath, preparing for the worst.

"How old do you think I am?"

She could see the look of confusion on his face. "Uh, is this a trick question?"

Orihime smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to get mad at whatever you guess, trust me."

He didn't look completely sure but guessed anyway. "I say you look about 15 or 16."

"That's pretty good. I turned 16 the day the Earth died."

"What?"

Orihime twisted her hands together. "My birthday was the day the moon exploded, which was also the same day I was put to sleep for my protection."

Ichigo furrowed his brows. "Wait, wait, so you are saying you were born before the Earth became what it is now?"

Orihime nodded. "Yes. Kurosaki-san, I'm actually over 400 years old."

Ichigo fell back out of his chair in shock. Once he got his composure back together he stared at Orihime intently. "How is that even possible?"

Orihime turned her head away. She had an idea on why but she wasn't sure if she should tell him, so she opted to tell a bit of a lie. "I assume the capsule they put me in was the only one to work."

"I guess that makes you pretty lucky then."

Orihime laughed at the irony. "You could say that I'm lucky to be alive, but I don't know about being lucky as a whole."

Ichigo slapped his forehead. "I guess you are right."

"Ichigo! Ichigo!"

Orihime and Ichigo turned their heads in the direction of the high pitched yell.

"What is it? I have a client you know!" Ichigo mumbled when he saw who it was.

"It can't be helped! You didn't show up for your other job." The young woman turned her attention to Orihime and frowned. She was a petite girl but was full of energy. She had short black hair and dark eyes that glimmered with life.

"You are helping the traitors now?" Her voice was stern and full of anger.

Orihime backed further away, afraid she would be hurt again.

Seeing the fear in her face, the young woman's expression softened.

"Rukia, don't be rude. I don't think she is what you're thinking." Ichigo began to tidy up his home and placed the chair he was sitting on back in the corner.

Rukia walked up closer to Orihime and held out her hand. "I'm sorry, my name is Rukia Kuchiki."

Orihime looked at her outreached hand and realized she was greeting her. She slowly put her hand out to respond but before she could reach the woman grabbed her hand tightly and shook.

"Orihime Inoue."

Orihime laughed silently at the number of times she had to introduce herself today.

"Listen Inoue-san," Rukia scratched the top of her head. "If you're not a traitor then why are you wearing that?" She pointed to her clothes.

Orihime glanced down to see the outfit one more time. "It's… kind of a complicated thing really."

Rukia sat down on the bed next to her. "Oh really? Do tell."

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled. "I thought you were going to drag me out to work."

Rukia grabbed the closest thing to her and chucked it at his head. "Shut up, this is more important."

Ichigo ducked just in time and mumbled some things that didn't sound too nice.

Orihime tried to suppress a giggle. It reminded her a bit of how she and her brother used to act but it wasn't long before the memory of her brother brought back the sadness. Rukia noticed.

"Did you remember something sad?"

Orihime closed her eyes to try and hold back the tears. Once she was in check she responded. "It's just, my brother… I don't think he made it."

"Oh." Rukia looked really uncomfortable but placed her hand on her back and patted her lightly.

Ichigo gave her a sad look and decided to pull out his chair again.

"I told Kurosaki-san that I was in a capsule for over 400 years."

Rukia's eyes widened but she didn't ask any questions.

"Well, the ones who woke me up where two Arrancars, only they called themselves Espada."

"What?" Ichigo jumped from his chair.

Orihime was startled by his outburst but wondered why he even bothered to sit since he couldn't seem to make up his mind.

"You were found by the strongest of our enemies and they didn't kill you? They even let you go?"

Orihime fidgeted. She didn't really understand it either. "They didn't exactly just let me go."

Rukia threw another thing at Ichigo's head to get him to shut up.

"They told me that they would come get me from time to time and they were going to keep a watchful eye on me."

Rukia stood up and grabbed Orihime's arm to lift her up too. "I understand now. That is why you are wearing that outfit. They want us to know you belong to them."

Orihime was glad that she didn't have to explain that far.

"Yeah but," The girls turned their heads to look at Ichigo. "Isn't that the dress for the intended Queen?"

"Yeah, I didn't really understand that either. I asked Ulquiorra and he said…"

"Ulquiorra? You talked to him?" Ichigo looked worried.

"Well yeah, he was the one who found me and the one to leave me here."

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other for a split second.

"Anyway, he said that he didn't think it really means he wants me to be his queen. He wouldn't say anything more though."

Rukia place her hand to her chin in thought. "That is really strange. I hope it doesn't cause you a lot of trouble in the future."

Orihime blinked but said nothing. She was pretty sure it was going to bring her trouble. She just hoped it wouldn't bring others harm.

"For now we must get you into something else." Rukia grabbed Orihime by the arm and started to drag her out of Ichigo's house.

Orihime let her take the lead without protest. She wasn't sure about changing clothes though. She didn't want to make the Arrancars, or more precisely, Aizen mad. However, she was pretty sure she wouldn't have much say in the matter and seeing at the ugly looks people where giving her as they passed by didn't help the matter.

"Here we are!" Rukia said with pride.

Orihime looked at the place in front of them. It was nothing more than a hole in the wall. She couldn't believe how bad living had gotten. She forced a smile on. "It's looks nice."

Rukia gave her a happy nod and dragged her inside.

Inside was a little better than outside. It was very homey and relaxing.

Rukia placed Orihime in a chair next to a table and ran off to some other room. Orihime just sat there taking in all that she could. It was so strange, this new world. She wondered if she would ever get used to it.

Rukia came rushing back with a bundle of clothes. "I'm not really sure what will fit you since you seem to be taller than me and you have bigger boobs."

Orihime blushed and tried to cover her breasts. She always hated these things.

Rukia held up what looked to be a top next to Orihime. "Here, try this one. It might be a little tight but it was the best thing I could find. We could probably get you some of your own clothes soon or go and borrow some from Rangiku. She has big boobs too."

Orihime sweatdropped but took the outfit gratefully. She stared at Rukia when she wasn't leaving.

"Oh! Right! I will just be in the other room. Let me know when you are done."

As soon as Rukia was gone Orihime began to take off the Arrancar dress. She was a little sad to take it off because it was so well made. She thought it would make her sweat in the heat but the material used must have been something special because it kept her at a comfortable temperature.

She laid it out neatly on the table and began to place the clothes on that Rukia gave her. They weren't bad, a little itchy in some places but nothing she couldn't handle. The top was just a little tight, like Rukia thought it might be, but it did fit.

She was just glad that the shirt was long. The pants, however, took her a while to figure out. They seemed to be huge but it wasn't until she noticed the string did she realize it was suppose to be that way. She placed the pants on and then grabbed the tie and did it as tight and secure as possible.

She felt like she was being wrapped up in a bunch of sheets but it was surprisingly comfy.

"Um," Orihime knocked on the door that Rukia went into. "I'm done."

Rukia came out and beamed a smile. "It looks good on you."

Orihime couldn't help but smile back. She couldn't believe how scared she first felt around this girl.

"Thank you so much for all your help." Orihime bowed in gratitude.

"Don't mention it!" Rukia forced her to stand up straight. "You seem like a really nice person and I have needed someone else around that isn't crazy."

Orihime scratched the back of head. "I hope I stay that way. Not crazy, that is."

Rukia began to laugh. "Don't worry. If you do, you won't be the first."

"Oh no!" Orihime began to panic again.

"What's wrong?" Rukia backed away just a bit.

"I left the package that the Arrancars gave me at the scene of the crime!"

Rukia gave her a puzzled look. "Scene of the crime?"

Orihime turned towards the door. "I have to get it back."

Rukia reached to stop her. "Hold on, what are you talking about?"

Orihime was starting to feel annoyed until she realized that the way she talked and the way they talked might have been different. "Oh, I'm talking about the place where they pelted me with rocks. Those lovely people."

Rukia watched in awe at the complete mood change Orihime was going through. First she was shocked, then scared, then mad, and now she was smiling while talking sarcastically about the people who hurt her. She was beginning to wonder what type of person Orihime was. Perhaps she was much smarter than she wanted to let on and possibly she was hiding a lot more.

"I'll go with you. We might have changed your clothes but someone is bound to remember you, especially since you are covered in bandages."

Orihime looked down at her body and realized Rukia was telling the truth. If there wasn't a bandage on then she had some sort of scrape or bruise. "Okay, thanks."

She was about to lead the way when she just remembered. "Um, I don't know where it is."

Rukia sighed. "I have no idea either. I guess we will have to go see Ichigo again."

Orihime's heart fluttered at the name of Ichigo but she forced herself to ignore it.

* * *

"Welcome back Ulquiorra." Aizen said as Ulquiorra entered his throne room. "How did it go?"

Ulquiorra bowed and went on to answer him. "She was noisy but she has made it safe and sound to the human town."

Gin started to laugh. "Noisy, huh? I wonder what she would be like in bed."

"Now Gin, don't say such things about my future queen in training." Aizen responded with an air of laughter.

Ulquiorra's eye twitched but everyone was too far away to notice.

Gin continued to laugh. "So, you are seriously thinking she might be your Queen."

Tousen chose to speak then. "You really think she actually has any worth?"

Aizen smirked. "Tsk, tsk, I'm curious about her to say the least." He then stood up from this throne. "Ulquiorra, I want you to be the one to keep an eye on her. I will also have you be the one to go and get her when it is time."

"Hai, Aizen-sama"

"Also, bring me daily reports with that eye of yours."

"Hai."

"You may leave."

Ulquiorra didn't waste any time to retreat. For some reason, hearing that Aizen was actually considering her to be the future queen annoyed him.

"That Aizen, he has finally lost his marbles."

Ulquiorra turned around to look at Grimmjow. "What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that Aizen is an idiot or he is just plain horny."

Ulquiorra reached to put his hand around Grimmjow's throat.

Grimmjow wasn't expecting such a violent reaction so he was easily detained.

"Whatch your mouth, you fool. Anyone can see that he has a plan for her."

Grimmjow glared down at Ulquiorra but couldn't say anything until he let go.

"Say whatever you want Ulquiorra, but it seems to me that having her be the potential queen bothers you as well. Why would we want such a weakling to be in control of us?"

Ulquiorra thought Grimmjow's words over carefully, wondering if that was why he felt uncomfortable about it. In the end he came to a satisfying conclusion. "I will trust Aizen. Perhaps she is something more than we realized."

Grimmjow snickered. "You're such a lap dog." Then he turned and walked away.

Ulquiorra turned back to start his task, deciding that he really needed to make a conscious effort to avoid having to listen to Grimmjow anymore.

"Ulquiorra!"

"What now?" Ulquiorra turned around with annoyance on his face. He wasn't surprised to see a huge man walking quickly down the hallway trying to catch up to him.

"Let me go with you." He huffed once he reached his destination.

"Forget it." Ulquiorra turned his back to him.

"Come on! I'm so bored." The huge man whined in such an undignified manner.

"Yammy, ask Aizen first, then do as you like."

Yammy stood there as he watched Ulquiorra walk away. "Aw man, I don't want to ask that prick. You're such a killjoy, Ulquiorra."

Somewhere, Aizen sneezed.

"HAHA! I agree with you on that." A skinny man with glasses and pink hair said from behind.

"Shut up, Szayel, you dumb ass."

Szayel went quiet. "Man, you all suck." Then he walked off, contemplating making a voodoo doll for all the Espada that annoyed him.

* * *

"Goodbye Halcyon Days…"

"What was that?"

Orihime turned to Ichigo as they walked towards their destination.

"Oh, nothing important, I just thought I needed to say a proper goodbye to my past life."

Ichigo nodded his head in understanding.

Somehow, the walk ended up being just her and Ichigo. Rukia got yelled at by her older brother and had to run home for her job.

Orihime was starting to wonder what this other job was. She wasn't even sure if she was allowed to ask since they weren't just outright saying what it was.

Orihime was so absorbed in checking out her surroundings and thinking about Ichigo and Rukia that she walked right into a tall and burly man.

She quickly bowed to apologize and then looked up to see what he looked like. His features were dark and his hair was wavy and black. He looked like a fighter but for some reason she wasn't scared of him.

"Orihime! Get away from him!"

Orihime turned her attention to Ichigo and saw him step back. She gave him a puzzled look and turned back to the man in front of her. He was just looking down at her, not moving a muscle or saying a word.

"Hello?"

He grunted at her. "Hello."

Orihime smiled. Why was Ichigo acting scared of this man? He had such a soft aura. "My name is Orihime Inoue, what is yours?"

"Chad."

"Well Chad-san, is there a reason why my friend is afraid of you?"

The man looked over at Ichigo and nodded his head. "Most people are because of my appearance."

Orihime grabbed his hand. "Well that is just ridiculous! Let's go talk to him."

Chad let her drag him towards Ichigo even though he could have easily gotten her to let go. For some reason he seemed interested in the girl.

"Ichigo! This is Chad, he is really nice."

Ichigo looked at Orihime and then at Chad.

"Um, I'm sure he is."

That's when Orihime noticed something sticking out of Chad's pockets. "Hey! It's my stuff!"

"Um, Orihime, I think it would be best not to piss him off." Ichigo was about to make a run for it with Orihime when he noticed Chad pulling the things out of his pocket.

"Here." He handed them back to Orihime. "I found them on the street over there."

Orihime took them gladly. "Thank you so much! I was afraid I had lost them for good after those people threw rocks at me."

After Orihime said that she felt a slight drop in the temperature around Chad.

"The people of this village are to quick to hurt others. That is why the humans are losing all the time."

Orihime walked up to Chad and placed a hand on his arm. "I see that they haven't been treating you too well either, but don't turn your back on them. Ichigo was the one to save me, you will be sure to find one good person."

Chad turned his attention to Ichigo.

Ichigo backed up a bit more.

"Thank you for saving her."

Ichigo blinked.

"Aw! You are so kind, Chad-san! I think you have become my first friend."

Chad smiled at her little antics.

Orihime took the package Chad had handed her and opened it up. Inside was a piece of paper with writing on it and some fruits with dried meat.

"Wow." Ichigo said when he saw what she had. "They are really treating you to the best."

Orihime looked from Chad and Ichigo to see the looks of surprise. To her, food like this was just something she had yesterday, but in reality it was over 400 years ago. Shrugging, she took two of the fruits and two pieces of the meat and gave them to the two young boys.

They tried to deny wanting it, but Orihime insisted. "This is thanks for saving me and for becoming my first friend."

She wrapped the other pieces, intending to give it to Rukia when she saw her again.

* * *

**To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

The ideas are just flowing for this story. I'm surprised by how quickly I have been writing the chapters. I hope I can keep this up.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 03**

Orihime awoke from her nice, long slumber. She was afraid that her dreams would be bad or that she wouldn't be able to sleep since she was 'asleep' for over 400 years. Instead, she slept like a rock and it was probably because of all that she went through.

Rukia and her brother had let her stay the night at their house. When she first spent some time with Rukia's brother she felt uncomfortable. He had an air about him, as if he was some high class person, or royalty. Rukia didn't even act the same around him, as if she was trying to impress him.

She didn't understand the way they acted. When she was with her brother she was the most open. She loved to laugh and joke around with him. The relationship between Rukia and Ichigo was more like family than Rukia and her real brother.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

Orihime stretched as Rukia walked in. "How long have I been asleep?"

"It's almost noon. I didn't want to wake you up because I was sure you needed it. Ichigo will be by soon to redress your wounds."

Orihime paled, she had forgotten about that. She looked down at her legs and saw they were cuts and bruises free.

Rukia grabbed the blanket to fold it, but Orihime wouldn't let go.

"What's wrong?"

"Um, I'm not sure how to explain."

Rukia sighed and gave the blanket a hard tug. Orihime lost her grip and came tumbling off the bed with it.

"Opps, sorry, didn't mean to make you fall."

Orihime rubbed her butt slightly. "It's okay."

Rukia was about to move on her way when she stopped right in front of Orihime and grabbed her arm.

Orihime gulped.

"Where are all your wounds?"

"I'm a fast healer?" Orihime wasn't even sure of herself when she said that, so it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Well, I can see that much. But why?"

Orihime looked to the side, trying to avoid Rukia's intense gaze. She was saved by a loud knock on the door.

"You're not going to get away with not answering. I'll be right back."

As Rukia left to go get the door Orihime breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't out of the dark just yet but at least she now had a little time to be prepared for it.

She sat there, still as ever, waiting for them to return.

"How are you feeling today, Inoue-san?" Ichigo came walking through the door with a bag in hand.

"I'm much better today." Orihime wasn't lying, she didn't even feel sore.

"Let's take a look at those wounds, shall we?"

Orihime nodded as Ichigo walked up closer. He examined her arm and then set down his bag. "It looks like you didn't really bruise. It's kind of strange but even those cuts are gone. Maybe you had a strong reaction to the medication."

Orihime said nothing. She wanted to let them think whatever. Every time she cut herself in school she would have to keep the band aid on for a lot longer than it needed so people wouldn't know how fast she healed.

However, the explanation Ichigo gave had no effect once he unwrapped one of her bad wounds and saw it was almost completely healed.

They were all quiet for awhile.

"I don't understand."

Orihime gave him a sad look. "No one will. This was something I kept hidden my whole life. My brother told me not to let anyone know or I would get bullied even more."

Orihime remember back to the days when she was teased and made fun of. Her hair color was one of the reasons but her personality was another. There was only one girl who accepted her, even though they didn't hang out too often. That girl's name was Tatsuki. Orihime felt a pang of sorrow when she realized she would never get the chance to let their friendship grow.

"So, you heal quickly?" Rukia said. She was standing behind Ichigo the whole time.

Orihime pulled her arm away from Ichigo and nodded her head. "Yeah, I have no idea why I'm like this but I'm pretty sure it's what kept me alive for all these years."

"That makes sense." Ichigo said as he took some items out of his bag. "I was wondering how you survived when all the other people we found in those things died."

Orihime didn't dare to look at their faces. She felt like such a freak.

"Here," Ichigo grabbed her arm again and started to wrap the wound. "Even though you don't need it, let's just keep this between the three of us."

Tears began to well up in Orihime's eyes. "Thank you."

The two nodded in understanding.

"You are certainly an interesting person, Inoue-san" Rukia commented.

* * *

Ulquiorra was bored. He had been sitting on the outskirts of town watching for the woman all day and all night. So far he had seen nothing special about her. She was a very upbeat person for someone who had just woken up in this hell hole though.

He wished he could get closer but he knew that if he did they would be hollering about an Arrancar coming into the village. He wasn't scared of the pathetic humans but he didn't feel the need to have to go and kill them.

Plus, he had a feeling the woman would get mad even though they had hurt her first. When he thought about her he became more and more confused. It made no sense as to why he was curious or that he should care what she thinks.

His memories kept going back to the time he woke her up. For a split second their eyes had met. He was the first thing she saw after 400 years.

It made him wonder what she exactly thought about him and the other Espada. He couldn't even begin to fathom what her past must have been like.

Grimmjow always made fun of him for being curious about the past but he was a man of knowledge. He wanted to know because it was such a mystery and he didn't like having things unsolved. He wanted to believe he understood and knew everything.

However, ever since the woman showed up his mind was in an uproar and he was starting to feel like maybe he knew nothing. It angered him but his curiosity was stronger than any other feeling.

"Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra's eye twitched. He knew it was too good to be true when it came to being left alone.

"What are you doing here, Yammy?"

"I was bored and came to find you." Yammy stopped walking once he was next to Ulquiorra. He looked in the direction Ulquiorra was looking and squinted.

"How can you see anything from here?"

Ulquiorra ignored him.

"Hey, is that the chick?" He watched as a girl came out of this pile of rubble with a smile on her face. She was chatting away with a young man with orange hair and a shorter girl with black hair.

Ulquiorra wasn't surprised to see that she wasn't wearing the dress again. He figured the humans made her change it so they wouldn't be suspicious of her. It was a foolish thing to do since she was not one of them.

"Wow, this is boring. How can you stand this?"

Ulquiorra was still quiet, keeping his full attention on Orihime.

"Hey! Let's go have some fun with them." Yammy started to walk down there.

Ulquiorra sighed but didn't stop him. If he wanted to cause trouble it would be none of his concern as long as Yammy didn't touch the woman.

As soon as Yammy reached the town he could hear the bell ringing and people screaming.

* * *

"An Arrancar! An Arrancar is here!" a man yelled at the top of his lungs as he hit the bell over and over.

Orihime watched as everyone ran around to go and hide in their homes.

"Come on Orihime, let's get you to safety." Ichigo grabbed for her but Orihime pulled away.

"No, it's okay. They might be here for me anyway." Orihime darted to where the Arrancar was but was surprised to see that it wasn't Ulquiorra.

"Well, if it isn't Aizen's bitch. Coming to greet me?"

Orihime felt fear and began to think that staying out was a bad idea. She looked to her right and to her left and saw that Rukia and Ichigo had disappeared.

"What?"

It seemed that the only two still around were her and this huge monster. She couldn't believe they would abandon her like that.

"Looking for your human friends?" Yammy began to laugh at the troubled look on her face.

Orihime could feel the sweat dripping down from her forehead. She had no idea what was about to happen but she could sense that it wasn't going to be good.

"Inoue!"

Orihime turned to look for the person calling her name and became ecstatic when she saw it was Chad. He stopped in front of her and put out his arm. "Leave her alone."

This seemed to further amuse the monster because he began to laugh even harder.

"What a skank you are. Already getting other men wrapped around your finger."

Orihime could feel the anger from Chad's aura.

"It's okay, Chad. I'm not dumb enough to be offended by that."

He relaxed a little bit, but only a little. The truth was, he was really scared. He had never stood up to such a powerful being before. He lived on the outskirts of town so he had dealt with minor hollows from time to time but never an Arrancar. "Get back, Orihime."

Orihime did as she was told but was scared for his life. She was certain that the Arracnar did not plan to kill her but she wasn't so sure about what he would do to anyone else.

"Step back, foolish human. I'm only here to play with the woman."

Chad didn't move.

Yammy started to get mad. He lifted up his arm and swung at Chad, hitting him in the side.

Orihime watched in horror as she saw Chad fly through the sky. "CHAD!" She ran to his side and was glad to see that he was still alive. However, he was bleeding badly. She didn't want to do it but she couldn't let Chad, her first friend, die.

Right when she was about to help him she heard a few more people yell.

"Are you guys okay?"

Orihime noticed it was Ichigo, Rukia, and some other young man she had never met before. They were dressed in different clothing and where carrying some sort of weapon.

"You bastard!" Ichigo held his weapon up in front of Yammy.

Rukia ran up to Orihime and Chad while the other man with dark hair and glasses ran to go and help Ichigo.

"I was wondering where you guys went." Orihime sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that. We had to go get our stuff, though I'm pretty sure we don't have a chance of winning. We are only used to fighting hollows."

Orihime was about to ask more when she heard Chad moan. "Hold on Chad-san, I'm going to help you."

Rukia looked afraid. She had never seen someone so badly hurt and still conscious. "How do you plan to do that? Are you a doctor, Orihime?"

Orihime shook her head.

Battle cries where heard in the distance. Orihime watched to make sure they were still okay.

"Rukia, you have to promise not to freak out."

Rukia was confused but nodded her head anyway. She wasn't so sure she could get anymore more freaked out than she already was.

"Sōten Kisshun."

A soft glow wrapped Chad's body. Rukia stayed quiet as she looked at Chad and then at Orihime's expression. She seemed to be concentrating quite hard. It wasn't until she looked back down at Chad did she understand.

He was starting to heal or more like he was going back in time to when he was never hurt. Rukia didn't know what to think. It was the strangest thing she had ever seen.

Once he was completely back to normal the orange glow died down until there was nothing.

Chad opened his eyes and looked at Orihime with a kind face. He didn't understand what was going on but he did know that she just saved his life.

Orihime smiled with tears in her eyes. She had been afraid it might not work after all these years. She had never done it on such a severe wound before so it made her even more worried.

Orihime turned her attention back to the fight between her friends and the monster. She was really worried for their safety.

Just when she thought they were going to be given the fatal blow, a surge of anger coursed through her body.

"STOP IT!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as a flash of bright light expanded between the humans and the monster.

Rukia shielded her eyes from the lights. It was so bright and yet so pretty. When she was finally able to see again she noticed a huge orange glow was shielding them from the monster.

His hand was on it, stopped at full force. The orange shield started to crack and then crumbled to a bunch of tiny pieces.

Orihime fell to her knees. She had never used so much of the power before. Her heart was racing and her head felt dizzy.

"What the hell was that?" Yammy looked baffled.

Ichigo and the other man looked at Orihime with wide eyes. They were shocked to see that they were still intact.

Orihime took a deep breath and stood back up. Her whole body ached but she was determined to make it towards the Arrancar.

Yammy watched in awe. He had never seen such a determined human before.

Orihime finally reached him, but instead of slouching back down she stood up straight and tall. An angry look was on her face and her fists were clinched.

"What do you want from me?"

Yammy was angry to see the look of defiance on her face. She was supposed to be scared of him. Losing control of his thoughts, he lifted his hand and smacked her into the nearest wall.

Orihime hit the wall at full force. She could hear a loud pop coming from her arm when she tried to stop herself and winced in pain when she realized it was probably broken. She slumped down to the ground, coughing up a little blood that had formed in her mouth.

Yammy sauntered up to her with every intention of finishing her off.

Orihime closed her eyes and listened as her friends yelled for him to stop.

Just when she thought she would feel the intense pain, she heard a loud bang and a whoosh of wind, then another bang.

She opened her eyes to see Ulquiorra standing in front of her. A look of disgust was on his face, but it didn't seem to be because of her.

Then she looked behind him and saw Yammy on the ground griping about Ulquiorra getting in his way.

"You are not to harm the woman."

For some reason Orihime felt a sense of great relief when she saw Ulquiorra. Even though he was another Arrancar, and an Espada at that, she felt like she could trust him not to hurt her.

She lifted her hand out to try and reach him.

Ulquiorra stared at the girl but made no move to reach for her in return. He had been watching everything up to this point and made an amazing discovery. The woman, even though her Reiatsu felt really weak, seemed to have a very strange and unusual power. He knew that Aizen would probably be delighted to know this. It made him wish he could alter everything that he saw.

Strange, especially since everything else should have been what he was most concerned about? She, reaching out to him, was making him the most confused.

Deciding to do as she wanted he bent down to pick her up. She winced but did not cry out even though he knew it hurt her a lot. It amazed him at how strong she actually was.

"Put her down."

Ulquiorra turned around with Orihime in hand. "Stand back, trash. She is none of your concern."

Ichigo was starting to get angry. "What do you plan to do with her?"

Ulquiorra didn't know why, but he felt the urge to tell him. "To do something you worthless humans could never do." Then he took off at top speed to get Orihime to Aizen's castle for treatment.

Yammy follow close behind realization coming back that he would be in big trouble once he got back.

* * *

"What the hell?" Szayel said when Ulquiorra came rushing into his lab with a bleeding human. "This is not an infirmary, go somewhere else!"

Ulquiorra just sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that. She requires special treatment."

Szayel was about to complain some more when he noticed the hint that Ulquiorra was giving him. "I see." He walked over to a table and pushed off all the things to the floor.

It gave a loud clang, and some of the things broke but he didn't even bat an eye. "Set her there for now."

Ulquiorra did as told and put her down as so not to wake her. She has passed out from the pain and the speed during the trip back to the castle. He was glad that she did because it kept her presence low.

"So," Szayel started while digging through some cupboards. "You want to tell me what this is all about?"

"The woman seems to be more than just a mere human. You will see more of it once Aizen calls us in to replay what I just saw."

Szayel finally found what he was looking for and pulled it out. It was a needle and a bottle of some sort of medication. "Fine, I'll wait."

Ulquiorra walked up to Szayel and took the bottle from his hand to inspect it.

"Chill out, it's just something to keep her asleep."

He handed it back and watched as Szayel injected it into her arm. "She is not a lab rat, remember that."

"Whatever you say, still she looks like she is in bad shape. You sure she is going to live?"

Ulquiorra only sighed. "Don't get any strange ideas. She will be fine. She has a broken arm, snap it back then just clean her wounds and take a blood sample."

Szayel chuckled. "That's kind of harsh. It will make her wake up and she'll scream when I do that."

Ulquiorra looked at the girl on the table. "It doesn't matter, she will live."

"You don't want me to dress her wounds?"

"Don't even bother, it would be a waste." Ulquiorra spotted a chair and took a seat.

"Okay, mister grumpy." Szayel was starting to dread fixing up the girl. It would have been fun if it was his idea but the fact that Ulquiorra was being so hard on her made him annoyed. "If she dies, it isn't my fault."

Ulquiorra said nothing to this so Szayel went to work.

"Sorry chick, this wasn't my idea." Her arm was badly broken, he wasn't even sure if setting it back would help. It might have even been shattered. Still, Ulquiorra was staring at him intently so he wasn't going to renege.

He took her arm and…

SNAP!

"!" The pain was so horrible that Orihime's eyes flung open and she let out a piercing scream. However, it didn't last long before she passed out from the pain.

"Crap, _that_ is going to get the others to wondering." Szayel gently set her arm down and began to clean her wounds.

It was then that he noticed something strange. Some of the cuts he had seen before were gone and the bleeding to all the others had already stopped.

He looked over at Ulquiorra but didn't get any response. "How interesting."

When Szayel started to put away all his things Ulquiorra got up and stood next to the girl. She seemed to be sweating and having a bad dream. Out of curiosity he placed his hand down on her head. She calmed some but he could tell she was fighting a fever.

"Szayel, give her some pain medication that has a fever reduction."

Szayel watched all of this with amusement; he had never seen Ulquiorra look so curious about anything before. He had also never seen so many mood changes from him in one go.

"So now you want to be nice to her?"

Ulquiorra shot him an annoyed look.

"Okay, no problem. I get ya, take a chill pill."

Ulquiorra headed for the door. "Once you are done, come to Aizen's throne room if you want to see what she is all about."

* * *

Once everyone was assembled, Aizen called for Ulquiorra to stand in the middle of the room.

"Go ahead Ulquiorra, show us what happened."

Yammy sat in the back, fear running through his body. There was no way he would escape punishment with Ulquiorra's evidence.

Once Ulquiorra got to the center of the room he pulled out his eye and smashed it between his fingers. The dust swirled around and images began to form.

Everyone watched with curiosity. They had all wondered what this woman was about ever since Aizen gave her the outfit of queen.

Once the show was over there was lots of mumbling around the room.

"Perfect." Aizen said with a sick grin on his face.

Ulquiorra could only close his eyes and try to ignore what his gut was telling him. He had no say in anything and he shouldn't be caring about the woman anyway.

"I think she will come in very handy as my Queen."

The mumbles got a little louder after that.

"Now, now, my dear children," Aizen said with a booming voice. "Once she is Queen you will no longer have any doubts as to why I chose her, so treat her with the utmost respect."

In unison, the Espada replied, "Hai, Aizen-sama."

The man standing to the right side of Aizen decided now was the perfect time to speak up. His eyes were still slit and his mouth wore a constant, creepy, smile. "This should be fun. I'm glad because I was getting really bored."

Aizen only laughed at Gin's words.

The other man, standing to his left said nothing, but both of them knew that he wasn't happy.

"Ulquiorra, good job watching over her, I want you to keep this up. Also, I will make it your job to convince her to join our side."

Ulquiorra bowed before Aizen as he got his orders.

"You may go to her now."

"Hai, Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra then turned on his heel and left the room. He had never felt gladder about getting to leave.

"What's the rush, Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra stopped dead in his tracks to see a very tall man with a huge hood on that made him resemble a spoon.

"I've got a question for you." He walked up closer but stopped before getting too close and leaned up against the wall. "If you are supposed to get her to join us, wouldn't it be easier if she just stayed at the castle?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. He should have known that some of the other Espada would not understand Aizen's plan. "If she was forced to stay around us she would only feel more like a prisoner, whereas getting to befriend those worthless humans and not seeing us would make her feel a little more free."

Nnoitra gave him a blank stare.

"Those humans are so stupid. Once she realizes this she will be sure to join us, especially once she learns of what the hollows are. You see, if we make it seem like she is deciding all of this on her own she will be more comfortable as the queen and the humans would feel even more betrayed."

Nnoitra was finally starting to piece it together. "How smart, he really thought this through."

"No, not really, this is nothing for Aizen." Getting tired of this conversation, Ulquiorra turned back around to go check on the woman again. He wasn't really sure he trusted Szayel to be all alone with her after learning about what she could do.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

A whole lot of nothing happens in this chapter, sorry about that. I'm slowly building up to the good stuff.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 04**

"Where am I?" Orihime blinked her eyes rapidly as she sat up to look around.

"Szayel's lab." A deep voice said from a dark corner.

Orihime jumped at the sudden sound. She wasn't expecting to get an answer.

"Why does it seem like I'm always waking up to something new lately?" She knew who it was that had answered her even though she couldn't see him all that well. He was the first person she saw when she woke up after 400 years and the voice she could recognize the most.

She looked over her body once she remembered what had just happened to her. Most of her wounds where gone but one thing made her flinch in pain. Her right arm didn't want to bend easy.

"Be careful, your bone was broken and shattered in some places."

"Oh," was all she could say to that. She had never broken a bone before so she wondered how long it would take for it to heal.

"So, I am back at the castle?"

Ulquiorra finally moved away from the shadow. "Yes. I decided it was the best decision even though it's too soon for you to be back."

"Does this mean I'm going to be staying here from now on?" Orihime chewed on her lower lip. She didn't really like the idea of having to stay there, especially after making some new friends.

"No. It's still not the right time. However, we will come to get you from time to time. Perhaps you should let the humans know this." Ulquiorra walked up to Orihime and grabbed her arm.

Orihime just stayed silent but nodded her head in understanding. It was weird feeling his touch. He skin was so warm but his touch was a little rougher than a normal human's would be.

"Hey Ulquiorra, I brought the sling you wanted."

Orihime turned her head in the direction of the new voice. There stood a tall man with glasses and pink hair. It kind of surprised her to see a guy with pink hair so she made a slight gasping noise.

Confused by her gasp, Ulquiorra asked, "Did that hurt?"

Orihime shook her head. "No, I was just surprised is all."

The pink haired man pushed his glasses up higher on his face. "Oh, you're awake, how wonderful!"

Ulquiorra took this moment to put her arm back down and walked towards the other man, "Looks like she will need it to keep her from hurting it more."

Szayel smirked. It seemed as though Ulquiorra just wanted to test the woman's strength.

"Lay back down, I'm going to need to put this on your arm."

Orihime did as she was told and watched as he went to work. He was quick to move. Once he was done her arm was wrapped up so she couldn't move it too well.

"Okay, you can sit up." Szayel said as he helped her up quickly. Once she was sitting up he placed something around her neck and forced her arm into it.

Orihime winced slightly but kept still. She didn't want to know what would happen if she complained while they were helping her.

"There! This should keep you from moving your arm around too much until it is healed. You took a good beating, I wasn't even sure it would heal."

Orihime inspected her arm. It was a lot better than having to try to remember not to move it. "Thanks, um?"

"Szayel, my name is Szayel."

Orihime smiled and held out her hand. "Thank you very much Szayel, my name is-"

"I know, everyone here knows."

Orihime was taken aback by the cut off but was even more when he never accepted her hand shake. She retracted her hand and tried to hold back a flush of embarrassment.

"Okay Ulquiorra, I did what I was ordered. Now get her out of here so I can work."

Orihime's eyes went back to Ulquiorra.

"Come, Woman."

She hopped off the table she was sitting on and quickly ran after him. She didn't want to spend one second alone with Szayel.

Ulquiorra walked quickly down the halls. Orihime struggled to keep up with his pace but she was still a little woozy.

"Could you please slow down?" She swayed a bit and grabbed for the wall.

Ulquiorra turned his attention to her. Sighing, he walked up to her and waited. "We are heading to the kitchen to get you some food and then you will be going back to the human village."

Orihime said nothing and just focused on getting rid of her dizzy spell.

"You are probably feeling this way from lack of food and because of the drugs I had Szayel give you."

Orihime was started to get frustrated, every time she thought she was better she would try to take another step without holding onto the wall and would get dizzy again. It was actually starting to make her stomach turn. She looked at Ulquiorra and got an idea but wasn't sure if he would like it.

"Um." She reached out for him and grabbed a loose piece of fabric. "Could I walk like this? I don't think I can walk on my own just yet."

Ulquiorra didn't say anything and just started to walk. However, she noticed he didn't make her let go.

It wasn't much longer before they reached the kitchen. It was a huge room, but just as bleak as the rest of the castle.

Ulquiorra lead her to a chair and table so she let go to have a seat and just waited for whatever was to come next.

A strange man with his face completely covered came up to them with a tray of food. It wasn't anything fancy, just some meat, potatoes, and a few greens as well. Her stomach growled at the smell of it though.

"Eat, Woman."

Orihime's eye twitched a bit. She wondered why he couldn't just use her name. She almost wanted to ask but decided against it at the last second and began to eat the food. It was kind of bland for her taste but she supposed it was not time for her to be picky. Still, she would have been glad for some red bean paste on her potatoes.

She knew that her tastes were unique and not shared by many. It made her think of her brother. Every time she ate something he considered weird he would sigh at her and tell her that she better not get sick later. One time she had even faked a tummy ache after eating something weird just so she didn't have to go to school.

School… she never really fit in there. She wouldn't have been surprised if her brother knew she was lying that day.

Ulquiorra watched her face with great interest. One second she looked beyond happy, the next second it looked like a small breeze would blow her over. Then he noticed her eyes getting watery and few tear drops feel out.

It didn't last long before she quickly wiped them away and turned her head.

"Are you done eating?"

Orihime nodded her head slowly.

"Then come with me."

Orihime slowly rose from her spot at the table and pushed the chair back in. It was a habit of hers thanks to school. They always made the children push their chairs back in after lunch or they would get detention.

This time Ulquiorra walked at a much slower pace. Orihime smiled to herself. He was right. The food did help her to feel much better. She wasn't stumbling over dizzy anymore.

* * *

Once again Orihime was standing on the outskirts of the village. Ulquiorra decided to drop her off further away this time to keep from having another freak attack by the humans. Of course, he didn't just call them humans, he called them trash, but she knew what he was talking about.

Before he left he held out a little golden bracelet. Orihime looked at it with confusion but then held out her hand to take it. He dropped it in her hand and told her to always keep it on.

At first she thought it was weird that he was giving her such a nice present but then he explained what it was.

"_This will keep you safe from any Arrancar who might not know that you belong to Aizen. It's obvious you couldn't wear the outfit in this town but no one should know what the bracelet is."_

Orihime held up her wrist and watched as the bracelet on her arm glimmered under the hot sun.

For a chain, it certainly was a nice one. She would have to come up with a good excuse to anyone who didn't understand her predicament.

Taking a deep breath Orihime walked back into the village. This time there was no screams about an Arrancar. In fact, no one was even looking at her.

She thought hard to try and remember where Ichigo lived but the place Ulquiorra had left her was different from the last time.

"Um, excuse me." She walked up to a somber lady with a stern but kind face. Her hair was pitch black and very long. "Do you know where an Ichigo Kurosaki lives?

The lady's stern face went away when she gave a soft smile. "It's just down that road, take a left at the red bricks and then just keep walking. You are bound to see it." She pointed in the direction for her to go as she said this.

Orihime bowed in gratitude. "Thank you very much." Then she took off running without so much of a second glance.

She couldn't wait to see her friends again. While Ulquiorra wasn't scary he certainly wasn't some soft and cuddly teddy bear. She needed to be around people who had more life and more emotion.

She realized it was harder to run fast with her arm in a sling though. So she slowed down to a normal pace, she was starting to get stares anyway.

Finally, after what was probably no more than two miles, she spotted the familiar shack that belonged to Ichigo. She quickened her pace to reach the door and gave a light knock.

The response was not a voice that she recognized.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" It was a tough voice but sounded like a young girl.

When she opened the door she came face to face with a young girl wearing boyish clothes with dark eyes and short dark hair. "Who are you?" the girl looked annoyed.

Orihime wasn't sure what to say. "My name is Orihime."

Her eyebrows moved in a questioning way but she made no move to let her in.

"Karin, who is it?"

Orihime knew this voice and her heart jumped in excitement.

"It's some girl named Orihime."

"Orihime?" She looked around the young girl to see Ichigo's head sticking out from behind a curtain.

"You idiot! Let her in, she is my friend."

The young girl moved to the side and let her in.

Orihime hesitated some, she wasn't sure if she was really welcome.

"Have a seat over there. My brother will be with you in a little bit."

Orihime eyes widened, so he did have a family. She smiled at the girl and took her seat.

The girl was a little thrown off by the smile but then turned her attention to where Ichigo was.

"Don't forget, Yuzu is making food for us, Brother. Make sure Dad comes home for it this time. I will see you at home."

"Okay, thanks Karin."

The girl waved goodbye to Orihime and then headed out the door.

Orihime waited patiently for Ichigo to come out. She felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't realize he had a family and now she felt like she was barging in on their home.

It was only five minutes later when Ichigo came out.

"Sorry about that, I was with a client."

Orihime shook her head quickly. "No, it's not a problem at all. I did just show up here without warning."

Ichigo came up closer and took a seat. "I see that you did get hurt. Are you doing okay?"

Orihime smiled at his kindness. He always seemed to change around her, unlike with anyone else. It made her heart sink a little when she realized he was doing it though.

"I'm doing okay. They took good care of me."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I just don't get what is going on lately. What we saw two days ago, that really happened, right?"

Orihime turned her head away. She suddenly didn't want to be there anymore. "Yeah, it really happened. I've never really done it before on such a large scale though."

"I wanted to thank you."

Orihime's head shot up in surprise.

"You saved us." Ichigo awkwardly reached out his hand and patted her on the head.

Orihime felt like he was treating her like a sibling. It was a nice gesture but it meant that he would probably never think of her as a woman. Still, she was happy that they weren't running away from her and calling her a freak.

"How is everyone else? Are they mad at me?" Orihime moved her hands nervously in her lap.

"Why would they be mad? No, everyone is doing fine, including Chad."

Orihime sighed in relief, she was glad her powers could be useful enough to save Chad.

"Hey, Ichigo, where did you go?"

A loud and booming voice came from the other room.

"I'm out here, Dad." Ichigo replied with a loud voice.

Orihime flinched slightly at the sudden noise but then turned her attention to the room the other voice was coming from.

A tall and big man stepped out. He had black hair like Ichigo's sister and a little bit of stubble on his chin.

"What do we have here, a girlfriend?"

Orihime turned bright red at the suggestion.

Ichigo's reaction was far more spastic. "What the hell, Dad! Of course not! Don't make her uncomfortable."

It was funny to see the interaction between a father and a son but she was a little sad at how quickly he shot down the girlfriend comment. After a few kicks and punches they finally calmed down enough to talk to her.

"So you're the famous Orihime Inoue I hear so much about? My name is Isshin and I'm that rascal's father and owner of this clinic." He held out his hand and Orihime took it.

"It's really nice to meet you. I had no idea Ichigo had a father."

Ichigo's father then turned his attention back to his son. "What? You failed to mention me?"

Ichigo just rolled his eyes. "It never came up."

"Why you ungrateful-"

His sentence was interrupted by another person walking in the door.

"Ichigo!"

Orihime now had her attention on the intruder. It was the guy she saw fighting with Ichigo.

He came walking right up to Ichigo and grabbed the front of his shirt. "I should just kill you right here."

Orihime eyes got really big. She figured they were really good friends but it seems her first impression was off. Her presence went unknown for a good amount of time until Ichigo spoke up.

"Calm down, Uryu. We have company."

Uryu let go of Ichigo's shirt quickly when he realized this was true.

"You!"

Orihime backed away a little. She didn't know what to think about this guy.

When he noticed that she had started, her he lowered his voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I was just surprised."

Orihime looked at Uryu's face. Now that she wasn't in a panic and they weren't running around trying to fight, she could see just how young and handsome he actually was.

"Uh oh, Ichigo, looks like you have a rival!"

Ichigo's eye bugged out as he slammed his fist down into his father's head. "Like I said, it's not like that!"

Orihime laughed nervously.

Uryu looked as if it was that most natural thing ever. He turned his body towards Orihime and bowed. "Sorry that our first meeting had to be like this but I might as well go now."

Orihime just nodded her head. "It was nice to meet you."

It wasn't much longer after Uryu left that the family members finally stopped fighting.

"Let's close up and go eat!" Isshin said as he gathered his things.

Orihime was starting to wonder what she was supposed to do.

Ichigo put his hand on her shoulder. "Come with us to eat."

Orihime relaxed a bit at his offer because she knew what she was going to do next, however she wasn't feeling that hungry because of how much food Ulquiorra made her eat. She was going to have to grow more room in her stomach really fast.

"Thank you, I would like that very much."

* * *

Ulquiorra sat in his usual spot when watching Orihime. He had made sure she got to a safe place. When he noticed her coming out of a shack with a man that had bright orange hair his eye twitched.

He didn't like that man. He had an air about him that made him want to put him back in his place. He didn't usually feel that way either because he was very good at keeping his emotions in check.

Feeling like he had watched her long enough he headed back to the castle. Aizen had told him to keep a close eye on her but that wasn't his only job. He also needed to observe some other things for the plan Aizen had.

Lately there seemed to be more and more Hollows. It would only be a matter of time before he actually had to bring the woman back to the castle for good.

For now he was just going to prepare for the next time she was summoned to Aizen's throne room.

He was mad at himself because he never got around to asking her all the questions about the past. So he wanted to make sure he remembered to ask her the next visit.

He hoped that asking her those questions would make it so that he wouldn't always be thinking about her.

* * *

Dinner went well. There wasn't a whole lot of food so Orihime was able to eat enough of it without seeming rude. She found out that Ichigo had another sister, a fraternal twin to the other girl. They were nothing alike, even though they were born at the same time. She was very sweet and quiet, the only girly one in the family.

Orihime really liked her too. She felt a little more comfortable at the dinner table with her there. She spoke to her in such a proper way that all Orihime could do was smile.

Now Orihime was back at Rukia's place, sitting in a small room with Rukia, Ichigo, and someone new. He was introduced to her as Renji and he had the brightest, red hair and bizarre markings all over his body.

Orihime felt a little intimidated by him at first but then she quickly found out that he was a lot like Ichigo. Loud and simple minded, yet kind and awkward. He seemed to be a childhood friend of Rukia's before they moved to this village.

That was a first for Orihime. She had no idea that some of the people actually moved to different places even though it was so dangerous out there.

"So, you said you guys fight these hollows?"

Rukia nodded her head. "Yeah. It's just the ones that get too close to the village though."

"That sounds really dangerous."

Renji decided to speak up at that comment. "No way! These guys are such small fries. I could take out 20 if I really wanted to."

Ichigo snorted. "You mean, you could take out 1 with the help of 20."

"Will you two shut up!" Rukia nearly throttled the both of them. Despite being really small she seemed to have a lot of strength.

Orihime watched their silly antics and felt a little out of place. "By the way…"

Rukia let go when she heard Orihime speak.

"I have been meaning to ask you guys. What exactly is a Hollow?"

All three of them turned to each other and blinked.

"Actually, we don't really know. We just figured they are horrible monsters that came to be after the Earth died," Ichigo said.

Renji relaxed himself back down on the floor. "I never really thought about it and I don't really care. They attack us so I attack back."

Rukia walked up to Orihime and sat down next to her. "It's a good question though. I doubt anyone would know except for the Arrancar."

Orihime looked at the three of them and realized she was going to have to ask Ulquiorra when she got the chance. "So, you guys fight and kill these things without even knowing what they are? You don't know what the Arrancar are either?"

"I'm afraid not, Inoue."

Orihime's head was spinning with so many questions. This world was really strange and so messed up. In the past, people wanted to know so much that they went out of their way to find the answers. It would sometimes even end in their death.

Yet, here, they seemed to not care and were just content on living out their lives as peacefully as possible.

She felt bugged by it. They didn't even seem to care about trying to get the world back to the way it was. Of course, it's not like they really knew how it was.

She began to wonder what the Arrancar were trying to do. It seemed that they held a lot more knowledge than the people of the village. She got annoyed at herself when she realized she never asked any questions and just went with the flow, like they were now.

She looked down at her arm that wasn't being held in a sling and noticed the bracelet again.

"That's really pretty," Rukia said as she made to touch it.

Orihime jumped back by reflex and then felt really bad about it. "I'm sorry, it's just... I was caught of guard."

Rukia pulled her hand back. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have just reached out without asking for permission."

Orihime felt really bad. True, the reaction was a little strong and not completely on purpose but a part of her didn't want anyone to touch the bracelet. She couldn't understand why that was either.

The atmosphere had changed drastically after that and Orihime knew it was her fault. She kicked herself for seeming like such an anti-social person. Her brother always told her she had a beautiful smile and that she should show it more often.

However, she was feeling too uncomfortable to use it now. So she sat back and pretended to be oblivious to the bad atmosphere.

She wondered how long it would be until Ulquiorra came back for her. She had so many questions to ask him. It was strange, when she was there she couldn't wait to leave the place but now that she was back in the village she couldn't wait to go back.

Or more like, she couldn't wait to see Ulquiorra again.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait, the next chapter won't take as long. Thanks for all the reviews. xD

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 05**

Orihime sat still at, yet again, another awkward breakfast with Rukia and her brother. She really needed to find a better place to be. She was tired of being a leech, especially when there was so little for her to offer.

She had told Rukia this when they went to bed and Rukia said she would help her look for a job and a small place to stay. She was thankful that Rukia didn't push her for more information about why she wanted to live on her own.

While they ate in complete silence, Orihime used the time to think about what kind of job she could possibly find. She didn't know a thing about this world so she could only imagine all the labor work they had to offer.

She looked at her arm and sighed. It was still wrapped up and in the sling. It was taking a long time for her to heal her bone. She needed to be more careful about that from now on. She knew that with her arm like that she wouldn't be able to do much labor.

Finally, Rukia's brother set his chopsticks down and excused himself from the table. Orihime breathed a sigh of relief and sat up when Rukia did.

"Let's go find you a job." Rukia pushed in her chair as she said this and took the dishes to a large bowl on the side.

Orihime made a mental note to help her wash those when they got back.

Orihime shifted in her new outfit. She had gotten a few new clothes thanks to Rukia's friend, Rangiku. She had yet to actually meet the person though. She wondered how long it would be before she did. She really wanted to thank her.

This time her outfit had a little more color. A splash of orange and pink, she felt like a sunset. It was a simple little dress that went down just above her knees. It was the perfect thing for her so that her arm could move freely in and out of it.

Rukia and Orihime walked down the streets of the small and peaceful village. A lot of people where already awake and looked like they had been even longer then they were.

It made a lot of sense, back in the past she remembered how people had to get up at the crack of dawn and start working in the fields so that they could eat later in the day.

It was strange to see how the world had to revert back to those times.

The bracelet she had on her left wrist jingled and sparkled under the sun. For some reason Orihime couldn't stop looking at it.

It was starting to annoy her how she couldn't get Ulquiorra at of her head. She began to wonder if that was the purpose of the bracelet.

"Here we are."

Orihime stopped in her tracks when she noticed that Rukia was talking to her and had stopped as well.

She looked in the direction to where Rukia pointed and was surprised to see a very familiar scene.

"So we meet again, young girl." It was the woman she had asked for directions to Ichigo's house.

Suddenly, it dawned on her at how rude she was when she did that. She never introduced herself and then took off running before the lady could say anything else.

"It's very nice to meet you, my name is Orihime Inoue." She bowed slightly. "I'm sorry about how rude I was yesterday."

The lady smiled kindly at her and made motions with her hands for her to sit back up. "It's not a problem at all. I could tell that you were in a hurry."

Rukia clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Well, I see you guys have already met. Good. This makes my job a little easier."

"Unohana-san, I heard that you are looking for another helper. Orihime here is in need of a job and a place to say."

Unohana took a look at Orihime and nodded. "Can you cook, dear?"

Orihime smiled brightly, if this job was cooking then it was a lot better than lifting heavy buckets of water or something. "Hai, I use to cook all the time for me and my brother."

"Where is your brother now?"

Orihime's face fell. "I'm not really sure."

Unohana noticed the discomfort on her face and decided not to ask anything more about that.

"Well, you seem like a nice girl so I will hire you."

Orihime clasped her hands together in excitement. "Really? Thank you so much!"

Rukia patted Orihime's back. "Good for you Orihime, that didn't take long at all."

Orihime turned around and gave Rukia a hug. It was something different for her. She had never really made the first contact when it came to people other than her brother. "Thank you so much for helping me!"

Rukia was startled by the hug but since it didn't last long it wasn't completely awkward.

"We open up shop at 10 a.m. and close our doors at 10 p.m."

Orihime nodded, listening to everything Unohana had to say.

"On top of the restaurant we have living quarters. If you like, you can stay there. Working in our shop will pay for that."

Orihime's eyes got bigger. This was getting better and better, she didn't want to have to look all over for a place to stay.

"My husband and I would stay there but we already made a home elsewhere, plus we are getting too old to use all those steps."

"But you don't look old at all!" Orihime said with her hands waving about.

Unohana just laughed. "Believe me; I'm much older than you would think."

Orihime just shook her head and thought she probably wasn't nearly as old as she was. Of course, she would never tell her that.

"Another girl will be working with you, that way you can take shifts. Her name is Rangiku, she lives with a young man named Hitsugaya but no one is too sure about their relationship."

At the mention of shifts Orihime got to thinking. She wondered how she would feel if she knew that she might go for long spells of being absent. "Um."

Unohana put all her attention on Orihime which made it even harder for her to say this.

"There is one thing I think I should let you know." She stopped and fidgeted a bit. She wasn't even sure the best way of telling her this.

"What is it, child?" Unohana didn't look to be getting impatient but Orihime wondered.

"Well, there might be times when I won't be around."

At this, Unohana actually looked curious. "What do you mean?"

"The Arrancar- Well they told me they will be taking me back to Las Noches from time to time."

The tea that Unohana was about to drink from came crashing down to the ground. Orihime winced when she saw the look of disbelief on her face.

"Why would they be taking you away?"

Orihime couldn't look her in the eye. She tilted her head down and stared at her feet as she answered. "I'm not really sure myself except that they were the ones that found me and I'm not exactly normal."

"I see."

It was quiet for a long time after that. Rukia just stood next to Orihime not saying a peep. She didn't want to over step her boundaries on what Orihime wanted people to know about herself.

"There is nothing you can do about it then. I just suggest you let Rangiku know because she will have to be working in your place when you are gone."

Orihime was relieved that the lady was not freaked out by this bit of information and bowed once again. "Thank you so very much! I promise I will not let you down and I will be a diligent worker to make up for it."

Finally, the name that Unohana kept repeating sunk into her head. Rangiku was going to be her coworker and she was glad. She would do all that she could for Rangiku to thank her for the clothes and for any other trouble she might have to lay on her.

Rukia grabbed Orihime's good arm and ushered her along. "We can go meet Rangiku now. I'm sure she won't mind to know she finally has some help even if you might go missing sometimes."

Orihime smiled at Rukia and nodded her head. "It was very nice to meet you."

Unohana just waved her goodbyes as they walked away.

* * *

Ulquiorra sat in his usual spot as he watched Orihime in the village. She was doing a little more today so he wasn't feeling as bored.

He noticed how she was talking to a lot more people and thought it was pointless. She was just going to leave them in the long run. Why would she waste her time?

Ulquiorra couldn't understand why Aizen wanted him to always be watching her. It wasn't like she was going to go anywhere and he was pretty sure he could be a lot more helpful elsewhere.

Still, it was not his place to ask or question Aizen's orders. Most of the other Espada thought he was a suck up the way he followed without complaint but he only did it because he hated causing unnecessary conflict.

He thought back to the time Yammy went off on his own and hurt the woman. He had gotten into a lot of trouble just because he couldn't sit still. It made his eye twitch at the stupidity of it all.

He thought he would be punished for sure since he let Yammy go down there but Aizen just nodded his head at him and thanked him for the useful information. Obviously, learning that Orihime held a power made it all okay.

Still, something wasn't sitting right with him and he couldn't figure out why.

Watching the woman was starting to stir something in himself.

* * *

Rangiku was beautiful. At least that is what Orihime thought when she first met her. She had a strong aura, full of pride and courage. She couldn't help but envy her just a bit.

Her eyes bulged a bit when she noticed how much cleavage she liked to show off. Rukia wasn't kidding about her being well endowed.

Orihime looked down at her own clothes and thought it was strange how she seemed to own some clothes that didn't show the cleavage. She wondered how the conversation between her and Rukia went so that she could borrow these.

Just behind Rangiku was a young and small person. If you looked at him at just a glance you would think he was nothing but a child but Orihime could sense that wasn't the case. The strangest thing about him was that he had white hair. He paid them no attention though as he swung around a stick that reminded her of sword training.

"My, my, so you are the girl Rukia has been stealing my clothes for."

Orihime bowed before Rangiku and thanked her for the clothes.

Rangiku just told her it was fine and forced Orihime to look back up.

That's when Rukia butted in. "Oh yeah, you know how you complain about not having any help at work?"

Rangiku turned her attention on Rukia and nodded.

"Well, Orihime has just now been hired at the same place."

Rangiku grinned and turned to Orihime. "Really?"

Orihime just nodded.

"Finally!" she grabbed Orihime in a firm hug. "Thanks so much!"

Orihime wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't received so much direct contact in a long time. "Um, you're welcome but I might not be much help."

Rangiku finally let her go and just laughed. "I'm sure you will be more than enough help."

Orihime was starting to feel nervous again. "Well, I will certainly try but I might not be able to help out every day."

Rangiku's smile didn't falter. "Why is that?"

"Um." Orihime turned to Rukia as if asking for help.

Rukia understood the situation and decided to butt in. "The Arrancars come to get her occasionally."

Rangiku's smile was gone and the guy who was ignoring them suddenly stopped and turned his attention to Orihime.

It was very quiet. Just when Rangiku was about to say something, a loud banging noise sounded off.

Rukia grabbed Orihime by the wrist and started to rush off. Orihime was confused as to what was going on.

"Quick, we have to get home so I can get my weapons. A hollow has appeared."

Orihime picked up her speed to follow Rukia. She wondered what these hollows would truly be like. She had seen them in Ulquiorra's visions but never in person. Would they scare her like Yammy did or would they make her curious like Ulquiorra did?

Once Rukia had gotten her weapons she told Orihime to stay home but Orihime would have none of it. She wanted to be of some help even if it meant all she could do was heal them. It wasn't like she could fight much with her arm in a sling.

Not having time to argue Rukia just nodded her head and they ran to meet up with the rest of the team.

Orihime saw a lot of the same people from back when Yammy came into town. The young man with glasses was scowling as usual but it was just at Ichigo. Renji was there was well. She looked around in search of Chad but saw no sight of him.

"Where's Chad?"

The group turned to look at her and shrugged. "We wouldn't know. He never fights with us."

Frustrated by their apathetic attitudes Orihime turned to go find him. "I will go find him and meet you guys there later."

They told her to be careful and took off in the opposite direction.

Orihime wanted Chad to be welcomed into this group as much as herself. She felt the strong need to make some small changes in this town no matter how insignificant it would be.

She wasn't really sure where he lived but she knew it was in this direction and that he lived on the outskirts of town. After running for awhile Orihime finally spotted a small shack.

She ran even faster and called out his name.

It got his attention quick because he stepped out with a worried look on his face. "Are you okay Inoue-san?"

Orihime stopped just in front of him and took some deep breaths. "I'm fine, but the others are going to fight. Won't you join us?"

Chad looked at her with sad eyes. "I would rather not get in the middle of their fight."

Orihime grabbed his arm. "I'm going to fight too. Please! I would really like for you to fight by my side."

Chad just couldn't tell her no. Something about the way she was looking at him made him give up in an instant. "Alright."

Orihime squealed in joy. "I'm glad. Come on it's this way."

They took of running towards the sounds of the angry roaring.

As soon as they got there Orihime spotted the gang fighting. She was worried about them so she ran out to help them but then she finally noticed the Hollow.

It was strange looking, so huge and nonhuman like. In fact it resembled some sort of animal more than it did a human.

She stood frozen in her spot, just staring at the beast.

She was scared, but more than anything she felt a lot of pain and a lot of sadness.

She could feel her body tremble and a cold sweat started to form from her forehead. Everything around her was just swirling, nothing focused but the monster. Sounds were nothing but muffled noises as if she were under water. It almost felt like she would suffocate from some enormous pressure.

"Orihime?"

Chad's soft use of her first name snapped her back to reality and she realized that she had been crying. It wasn't just a few tears either, but big drops and even though she had woken up from her spell she couldn't get them to stop.

"I'm okay Chad, please go help the others."

Chad looked at her with worry but when he noticed the determination in her eyes he nodded his head and ran off to help.

The others seemed surprised at first but welcome him into the fight. Orihime was glad and knew that if they continued to fight together they would learn to trust each other.

Orihime watched as they continued to fight, she could see they were struggling hard but before long Ichigo attacked with the finishing blow and the monster crumbled away like ash.

The feelings she had finally went away as if a huge bolder had been lifted from her shoulders, and Orihime knew it was because of the Hollow. She wondered why no one else felt it.

Ichigo walked up to Orihime and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you doing okay?"

Orihime jerked a bit from the shock and Ichigo pulled away when he noticed. Realizing what she had just done she quickly nodded her head and smiled at him. "I'm fine."

Rukia came up behind him and wiped the blood from her face. "It's not surprising you had such a reaction. Most people that see a Hollow for the first time get so scared they even pass out."

Orihime just smiled at Rukia. She didn't want to tell her that wasn't the reason she cried and stood still.

"Don't worry though. You will get use to them in time."

Orihime didn't want to believe that to be true, but said nothing out loud.

"Do you guys need me to heal you?"

All of them shook their heads and Ichigo smiled at her. "Don't worry about it Inoue-san. Save your strength and power for when someone is seriously hurt."

She nodded but started to feel really useless.

* * *

Ulquiorra had never seen such a reaction from someone before. The Rukia girl had said it was normal but he knew that was not true. Either they were blind or they really had no idea what had just happened.

It was not what he was expecting in the least. It looked as though she had actually felt all the emotions and pain from the Hollow. Perhaps Aizen's interest in the woman was more than he let on.

With her reaction to the Hollow he was glad that he never explained what they were to her.

* * *

Orihime stretched as she got ready to go to bed. She finally felt peace knowing she was in her own place. It still didn't feel like home but at least this way she had a chance of it turning out to be.

There wasn't much to the room but it was more than enough. The room was small with a single window to let in sunlight but since it was dark outside, the only thing to keep her company was a single candle.

Her bed wasn't made out of straw but of fur and some sort of rags. It would be interesting for her to get used to it since she was so used to cotton but she figured it would keep her really warm if the night ever got cold. Of course, she wasn't sure if that was possible in this world.

She had a single little table with one chair. It looked lonely so Orihime vowed to never eat there. She would rather eat alone outside than at the table.

Then there was a dresser with two drawers. She had nothing to put in it except for the clothes the Rangiku had given her. Both Rukia and Rangiku told her that, if she didn't want to make her own clothes, she could hire someone else to do it once she got the money.

Orihime liked the idea of that and figured her first paycheck would go into getting her some of her own clothes. She wasn't sure who she would ask but she figured she could get Rangiku or Rukia to help her out.

She couldn't wait until she was able to do most things on her own because she felt like such a leech. Still, at least everyone was really nice to her. It made her feel a little less like a pain.

Looking over at the dresser she saw a bowl of water and a wash cloth. She remembered from her text books and studies that in the past they didn't have bathtubs because they had no running water.

She knew they either had to bathe in a stream or give themselves a scrub down with a cloth and water. She knew it wouldn't make her feel clean enough to do that so she thought back to when she was going around the town.

The memory of a small body of water just outside the town came to her mind. She had spotted it when Ulquiorra had dropped her off. She knew it could be dangerous to go out in the pitch black night, especially outside of the town, but she was desperate to feel clean and wash her hair.

She grabbed her cloth and the small bar of soap then crept down the stairs and through the store.

She could have waited for morning and asked where the others got their baths but she didn't want any one to know about something. It was a memento she had back when she was young. It was the reason she made everyone get out of the room when she changed and the reason she rejected one of the outfits that Rangiku gave her.

They probably thought she was just being prudish but the real reason was because of the scar on her back. When she was in high school and had to change in front of other girls they always seemed to give her a look of disgust or discomfort. She didn't want to feel that way again with any of her new friends.

It wasn't as dark outside as she had thought it would be. The light glows of candles from insides home and outside kept her from tripping over rocks and bumping into walls.

She prayed she was walking in the right direction though. When she reached the end of the town she noticed how dark it was outside. She gulped but was determined to go through with it. She lit the small candle she had brought from her room and walked on towards the pond.

Thankfully it wasn't that far away from the town, probably about a five minute walk. She set the candle down on a rock next to the water and began to undress. It was strange getting naked in the outside air but at the same time it was kind of refreshing. When she reached for her cast she flinched in a little pain. Still, there was no way she could bathe with it on so she took it off completely and made a mental note not to move it too much.

Then she remembered the bracelet. Even in the dark of the night it seemed to glitter. Orihime wondered how it could be so pretty when it most likely was a chain. She twirled it in her fingers some and then set it down next to her candle.

She put her foot in the water and was surprised to find it was actually a nice temperate. It was a lot cooler than she was expecting but she figured it was probably because there was no sun up. Once she fully submerged herself in the water the temperature began to mix with her own and pretty soon it felt like a lukewarm bath.

She swam around in the water and just floated on her back. It was very relaxing and peaceful. For once she didn't feel like she needed to walk on eggshells. It was almost like she was back at home in her own tub, with her brother just in the other room making dinner.

The memories of her brother and old life started to hit her hard and she began to cry silently. She hadn't ever given herself time to think about it, but the realization was hard. Her life would never be the same. She was going to have to be as strong as possible and live in a world that was so foreign to her. At one point she wished she had died in that tube, along with her brother because then she wouldn't have to be all alone.

Tired of crying, Orihime dunked her head under the water to refresh her face. Then she took the bar of soap and began to scrub at her body and hair.

After getting all clean she remembered she forgot something very important, something to dry off with. Getting out of the water she felt how dry the air was and figured she could sit on a rock and dry off a little before putting on her clothes.

She wanted a little more time to herself anyway. She made herself comfortable on the rock she had placed her candle on and stared out into the water. It was really dark still but her eyes had adjusted to it a while ago. She could see a reflection of the broken moon so she looked up and gasped when she finally realized how close the moon looked. Sadly she couldn't find any stars in the sky. As if they had all been taken away and it made her feel sad all over again.

* * *

Ulquiorra sighed as the light went out in Orihime's new place. Now he was going to have to sit and watch nothing. The day had been interesting enough but he was not looking forward to just sitting and staring into the dark.

His thoughts of being bored vanished quickly when he noticed her sneaking out of the building with a few things in hand. He was curious as to where she could possibly be going at such a late time in the night.

He watched her intently as she seemed to be walking closer and closer to him. There for a second he thought she was coming to find him but it didn't last long when he knew there was no possible way she could know he was even out there.

When she reached the edge of the town he thought she would turn around, thinking she got herself lost but was surprised when she lit a small candle and kept on walking.

Did she have a death wish? It wasn't safe to be on the outskirts of town all alone at night. She was lucky he was there to watch for it but if no one was she would be killed quickly in this world.

He sighed to himself when he realized he had sort of become a babysitter for the woman. Perhaps this is why Aizen wanted Ulquiorra to watch her 24/7.

When she reached a body of water that was only a few meters away from where he sat he noticed her sigh of relief.

He had to admit, the woman certainly kept him from feeling bored. That thought only got stronger when she started to pull off her clothes.

Right away he noticed a strange mark on her back. His curiosity started to get stronger. He wondered when she got that mark and how. If she could heal herself so easily and quickly, it didn't make sense for her to have such a horrible scar on her back.

This woman seemed to have a lot more secrets than just her powers and age.

He then turned to look at what the woman was doing with her hands. He couldn't see at first but then realized she was staring down at the bracelet her gave her. He wondered what she was thinking as she messed with it but soon she took it off and set it down to get in the water.

He continued to watch as she swam around in the water and cleaned herself off. There wasn't much to see but here hair floating around the top of the water. Once she got out and sat on a large rock he could get a better look at the scar. It appeared to be a burn mark of some kind.

When she turned sideways and looked up it was the first time he actually looked at the rest of her. She was very small and curvy, much like Nelliel, one of the few female Arrancars. However, she was nothing like them. She had a soft glow from her skin, full of color and life.

He started to feel mesmerized by it and wanted to know how it would feel. When she sighed he snapped out of his trance and then got angry at himself. How could he let himself have human thoughts? It wasn't like him at all!

He took one more look at the woman and then turned away.

He was tired of watching her so he headed back to Las Noches to give Aizen an update of her life with the humans.

* * *

**To be continued.**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm doing my best to write this fanfic and actually finish it but this one will be a lot longer and more thought out than Broken Purity. I'm sorry that all the chapters seem so blah right now. I'm building up very slowly this time.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M **  
Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 06**

Two weeks had passed since Orihime's first encounter with a hollow. Things had been going smoothly since then. She got along really well with Rangiku, though at first it took her a while to get used to her loud ways.

Three days after the fight Orihime was finally able to take off the cast for good. She was glad for it because she was tired of it hurting and getting in the way of her job. Rangiku had seemed shocked at first when she came down without it on, but she went ahead and explained her fast healing.

She was glad that Rangiku was just as understanding about it as the rest of the people had been so far. Then again, she figured they should be with all the other strange things she had seen.

Most of the days had been so busy that Orihime didn't even have time to think about her new life and things that could happen. She was glad for that but every now and then random thoughts would pop up.

She worried for when the next time Ulquiorra would come for her and what the Arrancar would expect from her. She hadn't actually been summoned by them on before. The other times had just been when she was found and when she was hurt. So she didn't really talk to any of them. She still didn't understand what they could possibly want from her, other than her power.

More people from the village were starting to get to know her as well. Many people came to eat at the restaurant she worked at. It was the only place people could get food rather quickly before they had to go back out to work. Most of the people wh\ere very kind to her and acted very curious, however there were the few that didn't want to talk to her and only asked for Rangiku.

Rangiku looked sadly at Orihime when this happened but Orihime just smiled and told her not to worry. She was actually used to getting treated like that. Her brother had told her to never let those people get her down because there were others who liked and cared about her and those were the only people that mattered. It sounded really corny but she knew how true it actually was. She might have been a bit of an outcast in her world but she had her brother and her friend, Tatsuki.

She was starting to feel like the outcast in this new world but she actually had a small handful of people that called her a friend. So she was doing well so far. She just had to prove to the people of the village that she was not a spy for the Arrancars.

The store was starting to get quiet with only two people inside so Orihime decided now was the best time to ask.

"Rangiku?"

Rangiku looked up from cleaning a table to show she was listening.

"Who do I contact to help make me some clothes? I finally have enough money."

Rangiku tossed her rag into a box she was carrying dirty dishes in and wiped the sweat from her brow. "I suppose that would be Uryuu. He is the best one at making clothes in this village."

Orihime thought about who Uryuu was, when she realized it was that hot tempered guy that always seemed to be angry with Ichigo. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, he doesn't look like the type to be into sewing."

Rangiku just laughed as she walked by Orihime. "Most people think that, but it's true."

Orihime thanked Rangiku and ran upstairs to grab her money. She needed to get this done today because it would be one of the few days she would take off. She had told herself she would work as much as possible to help Rangiku so that when she had to leave with the Arrancars she wouldn't seem like such a bother.

She waved her goodbyes at Rangiku and told her she would be back as soon as possible. Rangiku just told her to take her time and rest well.

As soon as she was outside Orihime realized she had no idea how to find Uryuu. She didn't want to bother Rangiku again so she figured she could go ask Ichigo. Besides, it has been a long time since she had really seen him.

She walked down the hustling streets of the village with a smiling face. She felt really good today for some reason. She waved at the people she passed by, most of them waved back, a few of them weren't sure.

The day was another hot one. Orihime could feel the sweat on the back of her neck get worse. She was probably due for another pond bath.

She had asked Rangiku how they bath themselves and her answer was what she thought. She said there was a pond on the outskirts of town. They only bathed for a certain amount of time with other people because it was too dangerous otherwise.

Orihime knew that going alone was probably really reckless but she didn't feel like getting naked in front of other people. She knew the others were probably wondering how she got herself clean if she never went to these scheduled baths.

She didn't care if they thought she was nasty, she knew she wasn't and that was all that mattered.

For all she knew, they could be thinking it is another perk of her power.

When she got to the clinic she announced herself as she walked in. Ichigo was busy cleaning up some stuff, his father was in the back nursing some people, and Rukia was there nagging Ichigo.

Orihime laughed at the little antics between the two.

When they finally noticed her presence, she waved at them.

Rukia immediately turned from Ichigo to go and greet Orihime.

"Hey, Inoue-san! How have you been?"

Orihime looked at Ichigo and then back at Rukia. "I'm doing much better now, especially since the cast is off." She lifted her arm to show them the proof. "I just came by to say hello and to ask you where Uryuu Ishida-san lives."

Ichigo set down the stuff he had in his hands and butted in. "Why are you looking for Uryuu?"

Orihime began to blush when Ichigo came closer to her. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest but she wasn't sure if it was just because she liked him or because of his face. Ichigo seemed to have strong facial features that made him look mean. She knew the truth though. He was one of the nicest people she had ever met.

"Um, well- I have a job for him."

"Duh, Ichigo!" Rukia said as she hit him upside the head. "She needs more clothes. She can't keep wearing hand-me-downs that don't really fit."

Ichigo just glared at Rukia as she went on but Orihime could tell that he wasn't really angry. "Well then, why don't you show her the way since all you are doing here is getting in the way."

"How dare you say that to me! I do my fair share of work." Rukia punched him in the gut and Ichigo hunch over and groaned.

Orihime was starting to feel uncomfortable. They acted so strangely to her, she wasn't sure if they were really meaning the words they said or not.

"Come Orihime! Just follow me."

Orihime nodded as Rukia headed at the door. She turned towards Ichigo and bowed and then followed Rukia.

Once they were a good distance away from the clinic Rukia finally spoke.

"Sorry about that, it may have looked strange to you but that is just how we always are."

Orihime shook her head. She was slightly worried that they were really fighting but it wasn't exactly strange. "No, I wasn't really thinking it was strange. I was just thinking that you guys most be really close."

Rukia had stopped walking when Orihime said that but because she was in front of Orihime she couldn't see what was going on with Rukia's face. Whatever it was that stopped her didn't last long because then she started to walk again. "We have just known each other for a long time, so I guess you could say that."

Orihime smiled and wondered if she was embarrassed but somewhere deep down, she felt a slight sting in her heart. She wasn't completely sure what it was though.

"Well here we are!"

Orihime looked up to see another run down looking building. On the top was a sign spelling out 'Uryuu Ishida's Shop'. She held back a smirk at the very unoriginal title.

"Thank you very much, Rukia." She started to walk in but Rukia did not follow. "Aren't you coming?"

Rukia shook her head. "Nah, I have to go help my brother with some stuff."

Orihime frowned, she was a little afraid of being alone with Uryuu. "Ah, oh okay. See you later then." She waved and so did Rukia before she turned the other way and took off in a slow jog.

Orihime looked all around her when she walked in. The place was very tidy, despite the way it looked outside. She noticed all the different clothes but there was no sign of Uryuu.

She walked further in, hoping to spot him soon. She didn't feel right walking around someone's home, even if it was a store too.

"Can I help you?"

Orihime nearly jumped out of her skin. She was so busy looking ahead of her she didn't notice him kneeling on the floor behind some stuff.

"Uh-um…"

"It's not that hard to say what you want." His voice was strong and seemed to be losing patience.

Orihime squeaked.

Finally he looked up and the look of annoyance on his face immediately went away and became shocked. "Oh! It's you. I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."

Orihime calmed down some when he was using his polite tone with her again.

"No, it's alright. I was just startled is all."

Uryuu pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and stood up. "I take it you need some clothes?"

Orihime nodded her head.

"Then let's get started." He walked over to a desk in the room and pulled out something that reminded her of measuring tape.

This was going to be awkward.

* * *

Orihime walked down the streets back toward her job with a skip and a hum. She was finally going to have some of her own clothes. She couldn't wait too see what they were going to look like. From all the stuff she saw in Uryuu's house she was sure they would be super cute.

Some of his styles reminded her of clothes she used to wear a long time ago, such a simple dresses and shirts. She was glad that he gave her a discount for being a friend, although she felt like he was just being really nice since she hadn't really done much in the fight and hadn't really talked to him before.

Still, it was nice that he already thought of her as a friend. Especially since he didn't seem to like many people.

"Arrancar alert! Arrancar Alert!"

Orihime froze in her tracks when she heard the loud bangs and warnings. She looked all around wondering if it was really going to be for her.

When she though she heard something behind her she turned quickly but was surprised to see nothing was there. She figured she was just being paranoid but as soon as she turned back around Ulquiorra was in front of her. His facial expression was the same as always, emotionless.

The people in the streets screamed and ran away. Orihime couldn't take her eyes off of him though. Her heart was pounding like crazy, only it was different than when it pounded when Ichigo was around. It was fiercer and it made her short of breath. It was almost like her soul was being crushed under his gaze.

He slowly held out his hand.

Orihime looked at it and wondered if it was okay to grab it.

"Come, Woman."

Orihime gulped and grabbed his hand. It was unexpectedly warm, which surprised her but then calmed her down at the same time. Her heartbeat finally slowed down and she was able to take in more of what was going on around them.

People were still running away while others were heading towards them with weapons. Orihime came closer toward him, letting him pick her up, so they could leave the town before anyone would get hurt.

He seemed to have the same idea because he grabbed her quickly and they were off as swiftly as he appeared before her.

Orihime was grateful for not being held strangely this time, yet it was still awkward. She knew it was silly to think of such things but when people would pick her up she always got self-conscious about her weight.

For some reason she couldn't feel scared being in his arms though. She knew he was really dangerous and that nobody liked them but she didn't feel that. Perhaps she was just naïve for not knowing more about the current world. It made her think back to the times in her world when they had wars and how they would hate a whole race for it. She just wasn't ready to completely distrust the Arrancars.

Aizen- he might be a different story. He was not what she was used to at all. He was cruel yet kind at the same time, it made no sense! The other humans she wasn't too sure what to make of either. She supposed it would be clear eventually.

While Orihime was pondering her thoughts she didn't even realize when they go to their destination. It wasn't until Ulquiorra spoke to her that she came back to reality.

"You can let go now. Woman."

Orihime gasped and apologized as she released him and got down.

Ulquiorra started to walk ahead of her and Orihime took that to mean she was supposed to follow.

The place was the same as she remembered it. There wasn't really anything to it except for white, cold walls and sand.

"Where are you taking me?"

Orihime looked around but the direction they were going in didn't feel familiar.

"A room that was set up for you. You will stay there until Aizen is ready to talk with you."

Orihime's eyebrows furrowed. If he wasn't already ready for her then why did they bring her back so fast? She couldn't understand the way they did things at all. She shouldn't have been surprised that she would be kept waiting once she got to Las Noches.

When they finally reached the room, Orihime grimaced. It was even worse than the small home she had made for herself. While it was a lot bigger than her current home the room lacked any warmth. It felt more like a prison cell than a room.

"I don't want to stay in here."

Ulquiorra pushed her through the door. "I never said you had a choice."

Orihime thought he would slam the door shut and walk away, leaving her alone in a lonely room but to her surprise he walked in after her and didn't even close the door.

They stood there for awhile before Orihime decided to sit down on the couch. It was a lot more comfortable than she thought it would be so she bounced a bit.

"You are a strange human."

Orihime realized she was acting like a kid who was jumping on her bed and stopped to look at Ulquiorra again. He was just looking at her with that emotionless expression but for some reason she felt that he was really curious.

"Tell me, Woman. What was your world like?"

Orihime was surprised that he asked such a question.

"Why do you want to know?"

He closed his eyes for a bit as if annoyed. "Simply for more information, that is all."

Orihime nodded her head. She wasn't too surprised by his answer.

"First, answer my question."

Ulquiorra said nothing.

"What exactly are hollows?"

She watched him carefully for any change in expression or any sort of body movement, but his response didn't give her much time to figure anything out.

"You are not ready to know that information yet."

Orihime wanted to press on more but then she noticed a strange aura coming from him and decided to go ahead and tell him about her world.

"Well, my world was full of life, unlike this place. The land was greener than it is now because we had many plants and grass. We also had seasons so sometimes it could be really hot and other times it would be so cold we could get snow."

"Snow?"

"It's little white things that fall from the sky. They are soft and very cold. I used to hate having to walk in it but I did admire how pretty it looked, especially when you would wake up to it covering everything like a blanket."

Orihime took a break to see if he wanted to say anything but all he seemed to be doing was taking in the information. He didn't seem to have any opinions.

"Besides the nature we had technology. Getting around was easier for humans because we had cars, trains, planes and so on so forth. Those things could go pretty fast though I'm not sure if they go as fast as you do."

Getting tired of just spitting out information Orihime rested herself back on the couch.

"I don't really know what all to tell you. Do you have anything specific in mind?"

Ulquiorra actually had many things in mind but for some reason only one thing popped up when she asked that question. It wasn't even anything about the past world.

"How did you get those burn marks on your back?"

Orihime went completely still. It wasn't a question she was expecting at all. It was crazy enough that he knew about the marks.

"What burn marks?" She knew she didn't sound convincing but she hoped he would take the hint.

She had no such luck.

"Don't try to hide it. I don't understand how you could have such a mark when you heal so quickly."

Orihime turned her head away. She didn't feel like discussing something so personal to him. Then it dawned on her, how on earth did he know about them anyway?

"Wait a minute. How did you see them?"

Without missing a beat he replied, "It was hard not to when you were running around naked in the water at night."

Orihime blushed. She couldn't believe he had just seen every single part of her. No one had ever seen her that naked, not even her brother.

"Pervert!"

Orihime's comment stirred something in Ulquiorra and she felt it.

"Don't be foolish. You are nothing but a disgusting human to me. Trash." Ulquiorra started to walk out of the room when Orihime tried to follow.

"Don't follow me. Someone will be here for you soon."

Orihime stopped following him and watched as he walked away.

She didn't understand why he seemed to get so offended by her comment. After he was out of sight she got to thinking about what he said to her.

"Why do I feel like I have just been insulted? Do I really look that bad?"

A loud laughter from behind the door makes her jump.

"Who is there?"

Grimmjow came into the room, still laughing a bit.

"Grimmjow? Just what is so funny?"

He took a deep breath and finally stopped laughing. "I wouldn't worry about anything that guy says. In fact, some of the other Espada are making bets on him being gay."

Orihime eyes widened in surprise. "You mean… you guys can actually-" She stopped her sentence when she realized what she was about to ask.

The damage was done though when she saw the evil glint in Grimmjow's eyes.

"Would you like to find out?" He moved in closer and Orihime shook her head back and forth with vigor.

"Uh, no, that is okay."

Just when she thought she might be doomed, another Espada came in.

"You really shouldn't be saying things like that to the woman who belongs to Aizen."

Grimmjow pulled away from Orihime and snarled. "Damn you Stark, I was just having a little fun teasing her."

Orihime watched in fascination. She saw so many emotions from Grimmjow and even some from Stark, so being emotionless couldn't possibly be an Espada thing. It had to just be an Ulquiorra thing.

Feeling curious, she dared to ask them a question.

"Um, I was wondering."

They stopped their antics to turn their attention to Orihime.

"Does Ulquiorra ever show any emotion?"

The two looked at each other and then nodded.

"He does have one emotion but it hardly ever comes out. Once it does you want to be sure to get out of his way." Grimmjow said.

"What emotion is that?" She was really curious now.

"Anger," was Stark's reply.

Orihime almost couldn't believe it but noticed they were being very serious. For someone who always seemed so composed, quiet, and mellow you would think anger would be the last emotion he would be used to. However, as the saying goes, it's always the quiet ones.

* * *

True to Ulquiorra's word, someone came to take her to Aizen. It happened to be Gin, one of the few humans who lived in Las Noches.

He gave her the creeps even though he was always using polite talk. For some reason she felt like a mouse about to be devoured by a snake. She tried to shake it off and smile to be natural but she was pretty sure he could see right through her.

He didn't say much to her. Just smiled and told her to follow him. On the way to Aizen Orihime spotted a beautiful female Arrancar with green hair. She loved how the green hair looked on her and thought it was strange that such a color could look so natural on a person.

Well, maybe she shouldn't say person since she wasn't sure what the Arrancars were.

The young looking Arrancar bowed when she passed by and Orihime was saddened that she wouldn't be able to meet her this time. She wasn't even able to get a good look at her face.

After what seemed like the longest walk ever, they finally reached Aizen's room. Gin opened the door and motioned for her to go in.

"Just go have a seat in that chair."

Orihime looked at Gin one last time before nodding her head and walking in. Aizen was already sitting on a sofa on the other side of the chair. He looked so relaxed as if he had no cares in the world.

Orihime was feeling really nervous. It would be the first time she was left alone with him. She wasn't even sure she could trust him. It was kind of sad how a human could scare her more than the Arrancars.

"Don't be so nervous, Orihime dear. You should smile more. A smile would make that beautiful face all the more radiant."

Orihime tried to muster up a smile but even though his words were meant to flatter her she felt a chill run down her spine. She took a seat and sat as still and upright as possible.

"So, how do you like the world you are in?"

Orihime looked at Aizen in the face and tried to figure out what he was thinking. It was strange. His eyes were so empty even though he held a pleasant smile.

"Um, it is taking some getting used to but it's not all that bad."

Aizen sat back in his seat and closed his eyes for a split second. "I suppose you are wondering why I asked for your time."

Orihime just nodded her head.

"It's nothing much. I just wanted to get to know more about you. I mean, I get what I can just to make sure you are still doing okay but I would like to hear it from you as well."

Orihime just couldn't help herself. "Why?"

He sat all the way up and smiled.

The smile made her shiver one more time.

"Because, you are special."

Orihime formed her mouth in an 'oh' response but no words came out.

"I wanted to let you know that I have assigned Ulquiorra to watch over you from a distance in case you are ever in any danger or if you need something from us."

Orihime's mind raced. That was when she realized that must have been why Ulquiorra was watching her when she was bathing. It was all starting to make sense.

"I just want you to call his name if you ever need anything."

Orihime nodded her head. "Thank you?" She wasn't sure what else to say.

He must have thought that was enough because then he got up and went to the door.

"It looks like Ulquiorra is already here to take you back to the village."

Orihime was confused. She was brought all the way to Las Noches just for that small talk? Something just didn't seem to add up. However, she wasn't going to dare ask because getting away from Aizen was all that she could think of at the moment.

She rose from her seat and walked to the door, but turned to bow down at Aizen.

Aizen told her there was no need for her to do so. "I will be looking forward to our next meeting."

Orihime shut the door behind her and was surprised to see Ulquiorra waiting for her. He started to walk away so she quickly followed, assuming that was what she was supposed to do. She was feeling a little funny seeing him again after accusing him of being a pervert.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out without even thinking.

Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks, which was not something Orihime was expecting because she ran into him at full force.

"For what?"

Orihime picked herself off the floor and rubbed her butt. "Um- for what I said to you earlier."

"It does not matter to me." He continued to walk again, not even bothering to help her.

Orihime should have known better.

Once they got outside Ulquiorra picked Orihime up again and they were off.

She was starting to get used to traveling this way.

It never took long though.

Reaching the outskirts of town, they landed and Ulquiorra put her down. He started to walk away and Orihime had the sudden urge to stop him.

She grabbed the end of his shirt and he stopped.

Once Orihime realized what she was doing she let go as if she had touched a hot coal.

"I'm sorry. It was nothing."

Ulquiorra turned to her and Orihime got a little nervous. "There is no reason to say sorry to me."

Then he took off without as much as a goodbye.

Orihime looked at her hand that had reached out to Ulquiorra and wondered why she did that.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for such a long wait on the new chapter. I have plenty of excuses that I know you guys don't care to hear. xD The main one was because this chapter was a struggle for me to write because it is one of those boring transition chapters. It is probably going to be one of my shortest chapters too, sorry about that.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 07**

Orihime walked happily down the street humming a little tune. It had been over a month since she had any contact with the Arrancars. Chad was walking with her and she couldn't have been happier because she had convinced all her new friends to join together. She had never had these kind of relationships in her past life so it almost felt like a group of friends coming together just to hang out. In reality they would probably be talking about fighting strategies but at least it was a start.

"So Chad?" she stopped humming so she could try to get to know Chad a little more. "Is that your first or your last name?"

"It's neither."

Orihime stopped and turned to him in confusion.

"My real name is Yasutora Sado, but a lot of people mess it up and call me Chad so I just gave up."

Orihime smiled again. "But Sado-san, doesn't that annoy you?"

"Only a little-"

Orihime raised her hands in the air and then brought them down and clapped them together. "Then I will be the only one who calls you by your real name, if that is okay with you?"

Orihime checked his facial expression and saw that he has a very gentle smile on it.

"Come on! The others are waiting for us."

He nodded his head as they both took off in a slow jog.

Over the past month Orihime kept busy with her job, but she also spent a lot of time around Ichigo and Rukia. She hardly spent time alone with Ichigo though, and she wished she could. Then again it probably would have been a little awkward.

As Orihime's thoughts began to wonder further and further away they finally came up to Rukia's house. She knocked on the door politely and waited patiently for someone to answer.

She was surprised to see that it was Uryuu that came to the door. "Good evening Inoue-san. I have good news for you."

"Good evening to you too Ishida-san, what would that be?" She was curious because she wasn't really expecting him to come to the meeting. He was more of a loner but over the month she had learned that he was really kind and actually kind of fun once you broke through a few of the walls. Rukia had even mentioned how he seemed to act a little different around her.

She hoped that was a good thing.

"The clothes you ordered, I finished up the last of the batch."

"Really?" Orihime said with enthusiasm. "I can't wait to see how they look!"

"Hey guys! What's the hold up?"

Orihime could hear Renji's loud voice from in the back.

"I guess we better get a move on." Orihime said with a slight giggle.

"After you then" he held the door and let her in "and good evening Sado-san."

Orihime looked at Uryuu, confused a bit by the fact that Uryuu knew Sado's real name.

Sado said his hellos and followed in after them. Orihime figured she would find out at a later time so she decided not to ask, especially since people were waiting on them.

"Hey guys!" Orihime said as she walked into the room where everyone was waiting.

"It took you long enough." Renji said with a smirk.

"Yeah, sorry about that- I'm still not completely used to this town and finding my way around."

They all nodded in understanding as Orihime, Uryuu, and Chad took their seats.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" she asked brightly.

They shook their heads as if they didn't have a clue what they were talking about. That is when Orihime got an idea. She never liked to do this before when she was in school but it would be a good way to get to know everyone. "I know! How about we go around and tell each other a little bit about ourselves?"

They said nothing and Orihime was afraid they would reject her idea.

Finally Chad spoke up, which took everyone by surprise. "Okay, I will go first then."

Orihime turned her full attention towards him. She was really curious about what he would say since he hardly ever talked.

"Why is everyone so afraid of me?"

_Okay_, Orihime thought to herself, _not exactly what I had in mind but at least he is trying._

"Well," Rukia spoke up, "It's because of the curse."

"Curse?" Orihime asked.

"There is no curse." Chad replied.

The rest of the group looked at each other as if they didn't believe him. Orihime was getting fed up by their lack of friendliness.

"Sado-san, what makes them think there is a curse?" she gave him a puzzled looked.

He didn't answer, instead Uryuu decided to speak up. "It's because his old village was completely wiped out by a Hollow. Most people think he brings bad luck because he was the only survivor."

Orihime frowned- she couldn't believe how people would isolate him like that when he was suffering. Now she finally understood why he lived on the outskirts of town by himself and hardly ever spoke. If he had to deal with such a horrible trauma by himself and then be called a curse because of it, she was sure she wouldn't have been able to be as strong as he was.

She probably would not be as nice as him either.

"That's so stupid." She said in anger. "If that was so, and he was bad luck then that would mean I'm here to bring about the apocalypse."

"What do you mean, Orihime?" Rukia asked while shifting in her seat.

"Because, I'm the only survivor from back before the moon exploded." While it wasn't true she was the only person who survived the moon exploding, she was the only one still alive in the present who had lived through the experience. It was really strange, even she had to admit.

"You have a point." Ichigo finally spoke up. She was beginning to wonder about him because he was usually one of the most talkative out of the bunch. "I guess we owe you an apology, Chad."

Orihime smiled. If Ichigo stopped being scared of Chad then she was sure he would start to fit in. After all, it was Ichigo that saved her from the village when she first appeared.

The rest of the time was spent in idle chatter, with them getting used to each other and talking about fighting skills. From time to time Renji and Ichigo would get really loud and in each others faces. It amused her but when it started to get out of control it was Chad that had to get up and break it off.

It was a good thing he was becoming their friend because they really needed a strong guy who could get in between them when they got too hot headed. Chad was like the Yin to their Yang.

The meeting ended when Rukia said she needed to go home and make dinner for her brother. Everyone else decided it was probably time to get back to their daily routines.

As they were all heading out Orihime decided to follow Renji and Uryuu to Uryuu's place. Renji said he had some things to pick up from order, to which Uryuu told him if he didn't pick it up soon he was going to either trash it or sell it to someone else. Orihime asked if she could come with so she could get her new clothes. They were more than happy to let her join.

It was quiet for the most part and for some reason Orihime got to thinking about Rukia. It was strange how different she was around her brother. She wanted to ask her in person but figured it might be a taboo topic. "So… Rukia always makes dinner for her and her brother?"

"I know what you are thinking." Renji replied. Orihime wondered if she was busted for trying to snoop around her friend's personal lives. "You should probably know- since everyone else already does- but they aren't really brother and sister."

Orihime was surprised to hear this.

"Then why do they live together and say they are?"

"They are more like siblings through a marriage."

Orihime looked at Renji's face and noticed how annoyed he looked. She wondered why that was.

"You mean, like their parents remarried?"

He shook his head. "No, not exactly- He was actually married to her sister."

"Sister? But Rukia never says anything about her and I haven't seen her."

"That's because she is dead now and Rukia was never close to her. When we were younger we were both orphans from the same place. Her sister wasn't around, didn't even know she existed until she died and her husband came looking for Rukia."

"Oh." Orihime was starting to feel bad now. She didn't want to drag up painful memories for Renji. "I'm sorry to hear that and I'm sorry for bringing it up."

She heard him laugh and relaxed some.

"It's not a big deal these days, Inoue-san. I'm pretty much over it now and so is Rukia."

She watched as his face went from serious to a nostalgic. It made her wonder if he might have some sort of a thing for Rukia.

It was then that she noticed she had totally forgotten all about Uryuu. She turned her attention to him and saw that he was just silently listening.

"Um, Uryuu-san, I have wanted to ask."

He looked at her and lifted his glasses up on his face, a habit she noticed he tended to do quite often, especially when he was thinking.

"How did you know about Sado-san's real name?"

"I just find that having all the knowledge I can about the people around me is beneficial for my business and for my living - nothing more and nothing less."

Orihime mouthed an 'oh' and said nothing more. She figured he had asked around about him when he first moved to the village, probably because he was so thorough in fighting and thinking things through. Unlike a certain someone who liked to just charge in. Her heart fluttered again when she thought of him and hoped it didn't show up on her face.

* * *

"Oh! Is that one of your new outfits?" Rangiku exclaimed when Orihime came down the stairs of her home and into the restaurant.

Orihime spun around once to show her friend the whole thing. "It sure is. Uryuu is just amazing! It fits me so perfectly that it is almost scary."

Rangiku laughed. "That is Uryuu for you. He is a bit of a perfectionist."

Orihime laughed and made her way to the back. It was still really early but she needed to get the soup of the day ready. When she first started to work there she was only allowed to serve customers but now that they had some time to teach her a few things she would be able to make the simpler dishes.

And simple it was. She would never order the dish herself because it seemed so plain and bland. She wished she was allowed to change it up some but figured that not everyone would have the same tastes as she did. She remembered when she use to make food for her and her brother, how he would blanch and freak once he found out what all she added to the food for flavor.

He would hardly -ever- let her cook anything after that. She thought it was a shame that other people didn't understand her taste buds until one day she made herself a bowl of the soup and added some of her own things to it at the end of the day.

Rangiku had asked her what she put in it and when she did she figured Rangiku would blanch and walk away but instead she wanted to taste it. She even really seemed to like it and asked if she would make her a bowl as well. Orihime was more than happy, she was ecstatic that someone else actually liked her food.

After that moment they began to bond a little bit more. They were always on friendlier terms, Orihime really liked her, but it wasn't until then that they actually started to open up a bit more about personal stuff.

She learned that Rangiku actually knew Gin from her childhood. She told her that he was the sweetest person she had met and Orihime just couldn't picture it at all. She remembered the creepy smile he gave her and the suffocating air he brought with him, as if he would crush her with no effort. She asked Rangiku what happened to him to make him go with Aizen but Rangiku had no idea. She said he just changed one day and wouldn't speak to her.

Orihime felt sad for Rangiku when she said this. She could see that Rangiku was very upset by it and even heart broken.

When Orihime asked her about her relationship with Hitsugaya, Rangiku had laughed. She knew it was weird, since she was older than him and he looked like a child but they had formed a sort of bond. They weren't exactly lovers but they were closer than friends. She mentioned that he had lost his love just like she had but his had died in battle with a hollow.

Orihime wondered if everyone had a dark and sad past they were hiding. She wouldn't be surprised if they did. She wasn't really one to be different either.

"Oh hey, Orihime?" Rangiku asked out of the blue and brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Be sure to save some of that soup so we can eat your 'spiced' up version again." She winked at Orihime and Orihime laughed.

"Sure thing!"

Just as Orihime was about to get started a loud roar filled the air and the sounds of the bells and people screaming came not long after.

Orihime gulped. The sounds of the screams and roars made a cold sweat start to form on her forehead. She tried her best to hide it but she was actually really scared. The feelings that came rushing through her the first time were not pleasant; she was in no rush to feel it again.

Still, she didn't want to leave her friends to fight alone. She needed to be there to help heal them in case they got really hurt.

"Orihime? Are you okay?"

Orihime snapped back to reality when she heard Rangiku's voice.

"I'm going to go meet up with the group. You can stay here if you like."

Orihime shook her head quickly. "No, I want to come as well."

"Alright, but keep up."

Orihime just nodded her head and followed her out the door. He heartbeat would not take a rest. The feelings of the hollow seemed to be even worse than the last time. She did her best to keep her tears in check- she didn't want to worry Rangiku any further.

The hollow was just on the outskirts of town, so Chad was the first one to be there. Orihime halted quickly when a surge of power hit her like a rock. She tried to catch her breath but it was really hard especially after she had been running at full speed only a few seconds ago.

Chad rushed up to her to keep her from falling to her knees, a look of worry on his face.

Orihime finally got some control again and slowly pulled away from Chad's grip. "It's okay, I just- I guess I'm not in very good shape. That run took more out of me than I expected."

That's when she heard it. A scared and angered voice in-between the roars. She almost didn't notice it except that it hit a nerve.

The rest of the gang showed up not to long after, Ichigo wanted to run right out there but the look on Orihime's face and the hand of Uryuu wouldn't let him.

"Does anyone hear that?" she asked, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Hear what?" Ichigo asked as he walked up closer to her.

"The voice." She didn't even turn to look at them as she said this. Her eyes were focused on the hollow.

Everyone just looked at each other as if she had lost her mind.

"Orihime, there is no voice- maybe you should go sit down."

But Orihime knew she heard it. In fact the voice was getting louder and clearer with each passing second. She couldn't believe they didn't hear it!

She took a step closer to the hollow, as if she was in some sort of trance. Ichigo reached out for her but felt a strange spark when he barely touched her, so he withdrew his hand quickly.

"_I have to find her."_

Orihime was drawn in; she wanted to know what the hollow was so frantic about. Find who and why?

"_I have to be there when she wakes up!"_

That sentence alone was enough to make Orihime gasp. She took off in a sprint toward the hollow despite her friend's protests. Something wasn't right, she felt the same sadness and pain from the hollow but she also felt a sense of familiarity.

As soon as she reached the hollow it stopped its frantic destruction and stared at her. Orihime stared back at what she hoped was its eyes as tears started to leak from her own eyes from all the mixed emotions. She didn't want to believe it, but she was getting the same feeling from the hollow that she did from her brother.

"Brother?" she said quietly. The hollow just continued to stare at her so she wondered if it had even heard her or understood human language. It must have though, for her to be able to hear it's thoughts like that.

Just when she was about to call out to it again it let out the loudest roar it had ever made causing Orihime to almost fall back from the shock. Her fear was starting to come back full throttle and any other feelings she had were slowly fading away. She wondered what she was possibly thinking, walking up to a monster all on her own.

She wanted someone to help her. She felt so weak and useless. She probably even made the situation worse. She took a step back when she saw its hand reach out for her but was shocked when Rukia jumped in between them and took the blow.

Orihime was horrified when she saw Rukia being thrown far away, blood spurting from the slash on her body and onto her. She wanted to scream but her mouth was clamped shut. Thankfully Renji ran to catch her before she could hit hard cement at such a speed. However, the blow was so strong that it put Renji out of commission as they both went flying back, him breaking the fall of Rukia. They both lay unconscious on the floor.

Orihime tried to make a run for it but before she could its hand came back out, but instead of slashing her it grabbed her tightly and lifted her in the air. Orihime yelped a bit as it squeezed her. She wondered if she would die by being crushed to death.

"Please." She whimpered, in hopes that it would reach it. But the monster was too far gone to even realize what it was doing.

She looked over to her friends and saw a rage on Ichigo's face she had never seen before. He ran charging for the monster as Orihime hoped he wouldn't get hurt. To her surprise he sliced through the hollow's arm that had her in its grip and she went falling to the ground.

It hurt, a lot. She was dropped from very high and the only thing keeping her from even more serious injuries was the very hand that still had her grasped. She spit up some blood from the blow and wondered what bones were broken now.

Chad rushed up to help her as Uryuu and Ichigo went for the kill.

Feeling a new fear Orihime screamed for them to stop but they don't pay any attention to her as they slice through its neck.

Orihime watched in terror as the mask of the hollow fell off to reveal a very familiar face.

She knew then and there that the hollows were actually humans. How they ended up that way she didn't know, but she had just found her brother again and had to witness him in so much pain only to see him be killed.

It was too much for her to take, as soon as he was completely gone from sight -having turn to dust- Orihime began to scream at the top of her lungs.

She screamed for him, for her friends, for the unfairness of it all but mostly for herself. What a horrible world she had woken up in.

She was a sight to behold. Yelling up at the sky, people that were in hiding came out to see what was going on. She was covered in dirt, bruises and blood and she was just on her knees cursing at the sky.

She didn't care what anyone thought of her right then either. She was filled with so much rage and so much hurt. That is when something occurred to her. She calmed down enough to finally notice that everyone around her seemed to be scared and worried.

Orihime got up and made her way toward Rukia and Renji. She flinched some from the pain in her chest and figured she must have broken a rib this time. Both Rukia and Renji were awake now so when she walked up toward them they just stared at her, not saying a word. Orihime preferred it that way, she knew what they were thinking and didn't really want to hear it right then.

She healed them quickly and then started to walk away.

"Orihime?" she heard Rukia call out but she didn't turn around. She felt guilty- it was her fault that she had been hurt. She also felt guilty because -even though she risked her life to protect her- she felt mad at her for never trying to figure out what the hollows were.

She couldn't face them right now. "Sorry." Then she took off, far away from them and far away from the village. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with her newfound anger. There was only once place she could really vent it all out.

They knew. The Arrancar, Ulquiorra, they all knew about it but they didn't tell her. She felt like a fool, like they were just toying with her but she wasn't going to continue to let that happen.

When she got far enough away from the village she yelled at the top of her lungs once again only it is to call for a certain someone.

"Ulquiorra! I know you are out there!"

As if he had been waiting for her call he was there in an instant, looking no different from normal, which only seemed to infuriate her more.

"Why? Why did you just let all that happen? Why didn't you tell me what they were?"

He said nothing and didn't even bat an eye.

Tears were falling from Orihime's eyes once again but she made no attempt to wipe them away.

"I hate this world. I hate everything and I hate you!"

That must have been enough to get him a little angry because then he grabbed her roughly, enough to make her cry out in pain from the broken rib she most likely had.

Instead of just kicking back and letting him take her to Las Noches she put up a fight the entire way, kicking and screaming and doing her best to make the entire trip a living hell for him. It was how she was feeling right then and if she didn't release some of her rage she was sure she was going to break apart and never be able to be put back together.

When they got to their destination Ulquiorra threw her down into the bleak room he had her stay in before. She yelled at him to not leave her there but he didn't even turn to look at her as he stormed out, slamming the heavy stone door behind him.

Orihime wondered what would happen to her. She lay down and continued to cry. Would she be kept locked up in that room forever now? She figured it couldn't be much worse than having to try and make a living in such a world ever again.

Her eyes started to fade out from their usual warmth to a cold emptiness.

Anger, loneliness, fear, and hate, they were all things that felt horrible and Orihime felt them all.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	8. Chapter 8

Love me, love me, a new chapter and so soon! I hope this chapter is a little more interesting for you guys. I'm getting closer and closer to the major angst and drama. Be prepared, I'm sure I'm going to make a few people mad at me for it.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M

**Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 08**

Orihime sat quietly with her eyes showing no emotion. The man before her smiled coldly in return but Orihime couldn't take the time to care.

She had been left in her room for a few days, her rib cage hurting the entire time. It had healed up before they actually came to get her though. She never saw Ulquiorra again only a few other low ranking Arrancar. They would bring her food, which she didn't eat.

They also brought her a change of clothes and a bucket of water to rinse all the blood and dirt off. She wondered why they always seemed to have clothes for her that fit perfectly.

At one point a bubbly Arrancar with green hair came to visit her. She talked strangely and didn't leave Orihime alone despite Orihime's obvious rudeness. She didn't want to get friendly with any of them. She felt betrayed especially after she had tried to stick up for them a little bit with the villagers.

Of course, she was mad at them as well for being so uninformed. It was like nothing was going to make her happy.

So when Gin came to her room with his same twisted smile she was surprised to learn that Aizen had finally wanted to see her to explain some things.

She wanted answers but she wasn't sure just how much Aizen would actually tell her- if he would even tell her the truth in the first place since he was a shady person.

"I hear that you hate us all now." Aizen's voice was smooth and kept to a low tone, but even still it made her jump.

He snickered a bit when he noticed.

"I'm sorry you had to learn about the Hollows that way. It isn't that we wanted to trick you it is just we didn't think you would believe us. It's kind of a touchy subject around here."

Orihime was confused. She couldn't understand why it was a touchy subject for them.

"I will tell you a bit about why this world is- the way it is."

Orihime kept quiet but let him know he had her full attention.

"In the past a foolish old man had caused a huge catastrophe that destroyed the world you knew."

Orihime thought it was strange that he talked about the time as if he had been there. He continued to tell her all the different things that happened, all the people who died in some of the wars and so on so forth. Not much that really interested her because there was nothing she could do about it now and it was pretty obvious it had happened.

"I can see that you are wondering what my point is." His smile grew wider and a little creepier making Orihime shudder.

"You are special."

"What do you mean?" She leaned forward in her seat, confused by what he meant.

"You have a wonderful power. It doesn't just heal, it reverts time back to its original state."

Orihime always wondered about that. If she could just heal there would be certain things she couldn't do, but for some reason she would always be able to make things seem like they had never been touched before. She was surprised that he figured that out so quickly without ever really seeing her powers first hand.

"Why are you telling me this?"

He rested back into the sofa across from her and ran a hand through his slicked back hair. "I think you can save this world."

Orihime's eyed him suspiciously. She couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Your powers aren't just some fluke. You have them for a reason. Your powers are that of a God- or no- they defy God."

Orihime didn't feel comfortable with him talking about her in that way. It was a taboo thing in her time to be compared to God. She was never sure if she believed in him but she also wasn't going to play with fire and pretend there wasn't one either.

Aizen got off his chair and came closer to her. Orihime wanted to dart away but felt if she did he would get mad so she made a conscious effort to be very still. He placed his hand on her head and patted it gently. The feeling was so strange that she didn't know what to make of it.

"Orihime, I really want you to be my queen."

She couldn't believe the way he was treating her. Make her a queen of such powerful beings? Did he really believe she was more powerful than a God? She almost wanted to laugh.

"I really don't think that is possible."

He just smiled again and pulled back his hand. "You can think about it for as long as you like but please take my proposal seriously."

She nodded her head. "What would being your Queen entail?"

As if he wanted her to ask the question his eyes lit up with excitement. "I would like for you to be like the mother for all the Arrancars. I want you to save them because -just like the Hollows- the Arrancars were once human."

Feeling a complete sense of dread and sadness Orihime now understood why the topic was taboo. If they were once human themselves it made sense as to why they wouldn't want to talk about it.

A few tears started to leak out of her eyes when she thought about the way she treated Ulquiorra and Nel. She would have to apologize to them the next time she saw them, if there would be a next time.

She was surprised when she felt a warm hand brush away the tears. She looked up to see Aizen was looking down at her.

"You have a very kind soul, Orihime. I really think I'm not wrong about you and what you could do for them."

* * *

"Orihime!"

A loud and hyper yell came trailing down the hall as Orihime was walking back to her isolated room with one of the lower ranked Arrancars.

She turned around to see Nel just in time as she ran up and grabbed her into a tight hug.

Orihime smiled at the young woman's antics and was glad she was able to see her again so soon.

"Hello Nel, you act as if we haven't seen each other in a while."

Nel backed away with her face covered in snot and tears. Orihime almost wanted to burst out in laughter at the sight. If it wasn't for her strange look she would have been worried.

"I thought you were already going back to the human village and I didn't want that!"

"It's okay. I'm not going back any time soon. I need to apologize to a few people first, including you."

Nel gave her a strange look. "Why do you need to apologize to me?"

Orihime just smiled. She turned to the lower ranked Arrancar as he sighed from having to wait around. "You can go back to whatever you need to do. I think Nel can help me from here."

He looked as if he didn't believe her but then noticed Nel's stern look. Orihime didn't notice it though so she had no idea that Nel was actually very strong. The Arrancar bowed and took his leave.

"I was very rude to you the last few days even though you were very nice to me and I'm sorry."

Nel clung to Orihime's arm and smiled. "I don't really get it but I forgive you."

Orihime didn't understand why Nel was so different from the other Arrancer, especially Ulquiorra. Some of them were nice to her but she was the only one who wasn't creepy nice, as if she had an ulterior motive. Plus, she was the only one who seemed more human which was even weirder.

They started to walk back to her room as Nel held her hand. Orihime couldn't help but think it was like they were best friends going on a shopping date. Of course, at her age, there would be no way she would still hold her best friend's hand.

"Um Nel, I got asked something big and I wanted your opinion about it."

"What's that, Orihime-sama?"

Orihime didn't understand why Nel liked to call her Sama from time to time. It was strange, almost like she was already treating her like a queen. The only person who ever got that kind of title was Aizen.

"I was asked to be Aizen's queen, but how would that make you guys feel?"

To Orihime's surprise, Nel stopped walking. Orihime wondered if the Arrancar was angry because her face was lowered and there was a dark sort of aura to her but before she could say anything, Nel was back to her bubbly self.

"I think it is a great idea! I already think of you as our queen anyway!"

Orihime was startled by her words. "Why?"

"Because you are so kind and you don't treat me like a monster. Most humans can't even talk to us without wanting to try and kill us or just cower in fear but you are different. Just like Aizen-sama."

"What about the others? They all seem so strong. What would they think having someone like me being in charge of them?"

Nel put her finger to her chin as if she were thinking really hard. "Hmmm, I really think it is up to you. I will follow you not matter what your decision is though. After all, I'm ranked number three!"

Orihime was surprised - yet again - to learn that Nel was one of the Espada. Not to mention that she was higher up than Ulquiorra and Grimjow. It was something to really marvel about.

"Why would you follow me when you are such a high rank?"

Nel just grinned. "I think you are changing me already. I feel different around you."

Orihime decided not to ask her any more questions because she was just getting more and more confused.

She felt happy that she had at least one friend she could rely on in Las Noches and that made her feel a lot better about her situation.

"By the way Nel-" Orihime began. "Have you seen Ulquiorra around?"

"Ulqui-chan has been a little moody lately." Nel sulked at the mention of his name.

Orihime felt a pang of guilt, wondering if it was because of her.

She hadn't noticed that Nel seemed to put two and two together because of her facial expression.

They both stopped just outside her room and Orihime cringed. She hated the room, it was so lonely.

"I hate this room." She said softly, mostly for herself but she knew Nel would hear her.

"I'm sorry."

Orihime turned to her and smiled. "Don't apologize- it is not your fault."

Nel still didn't like it. She knew what it was like to feel lonely and she could see in Orihime's eyes just how alone she felt. She wanted to join her but she had some duties to take care of. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind that made her giggle in happiness.

Orihime didn't ask. Nel was weird that way, going from serious to being all happy.

"I got to go now, Orihime-sama. I wish I could stay and talk more but I have to do some things for Aizen-sama."

Orihime nodded her head. "No, it's okay. You have your job, of course."

Nel opened the door for her and let her in. Orihime walked over to her plain white couch and took a seat, then waved at Nel as she shut to door.

Quiet.

It was so quiet in the room.

Orihime wondered just how long they planned to keep her locked up in it.

* * *

Ulquiorra had many things to do ever since he took Orihime back to Las Noches. In reality he could have gone to visit her but something about her irritated him. He didn't understand why, but figured it must have been because she was just human trash.

When he had watched the scene in front of him many things had gone through his head. He had even considered stepping in and stopping it before she could realize what the Hollow was. Then he realized how stupid that would be, there was no reason for her not to know. What he didn't expect was her reaction to it. He figured she would be shocked, upset, and scared but he didn't expect her to break down so badly.

She was so different from any other human and it intrigued him, which in turn angered him. Why did she seem so special from anyone or anything else? He had never felt any sort of attachment to anything before, just followed his orders and lived life in a way he felt wasn't a waste of time.

For some reason he wanted to change that. He almost felt the need to torture the girl, to abuse her verbally and mentally. To see her squirm and then marvel at the site of her tears, to crush her and make her seem like just another pathetic human, which she was.

The anger she showed him when she called out his name was not really a surprise. He felt no need to provoke her more so he chose to just stay quiet. Surprisingly it only seemed to make her angrier which ticked him off a bit. She didn't realize how lucky she was by having Aizen's protection or he would have let her hear the truth in such a cold way that she would have most likely broken into many pieces.

Instead of losing his cool, which was not something he did often, he grabbed her roughly and took her back home. He figured he would need to tell Aizen and let him decide what would be the best way to deal with her and her anger.

Once again, a mere human seemed to be getting the best of him. She was making him think things and overanalyze things. She was making him feel things. He wasn't supposed to feel. He was a calm and collected soldier for Aizen. Feelings of anger, lust, happiness… it was all useless in his eyes and meant for the other Espada he deemed inferior.

"Ulqui-chan!"

Ulquiorra turned around to see a big bustle of green come running towards him. He sighed. When it came to Nel his usual tactics just wouldn't work. Usually he could just ignore them and they would go away, like Grimjow, but Nel was different. She would just bother him more if he tried to tune her out.

If he were to try to be meaner to her she wouldn't even respond, almost like she never understood. Having an intelligent conversation with her was out of the question. He knew she possessed the brains and the intelligence but ever since her fight with Nnoitra it was like she had shut off a good portion of her brain.

He wasn't able to figure out if it was on purpose or not. She was a bit bi-polar at times so maybe she had figured something out in her own logic that was just not something he was supposed to understand.

Then again, she did hit her head pretty hard.

"Ulqui-chan! Orihime-sama wants to see you." She stopped right in front of him and made a strange gurgling noise that Ulquiorra recognized as one of her weird laughs.

Then he realized what Nel had just called Orihime, never mind what she called him. He had already tried to get her to stop but it was a lost cause. "Nel, why are you calling her sama?"

"Because she will be our queen!"

She said it was such clearness that Ulquiorra was actually taken aback. He wondered if she had heard something about it from Aizen.

Nel saw his puzzled look and decided to let him know what Orihime told him. "Orihime-sama told me that Aizen wants her to be his queen. She hasn't said yes yet but I know she will and I can't wait!" She clapped her hands together in excitement.

"I think you are making wild assumptions again. I get the feeling she will never say yes." He thought back to her anger when she had learned what they were and the look in her eyes. They were so clear that he could read her like a book.

Nel decided to ignore that comment though. "Anyway, she wants to see you."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes as if he was sighing. He really didn't want to but he figured he would grasp the situation a little better if he heard it himself and not through Nel.

He began to walk away without saying anything to Nel. She didn't follow him, she knew he was going to go visit Orihime.

She hoped that seeing Ulquiorra again would make Orihime a little happier. She got the strangest feeling from her future queen that Ulquiorra was a small source of comfort for her. She figured it was probably because he was the very first thing she saw when she woke up after 400 years.

* * *

Orihime sat up from the couch when she heard the door to her room slowly start to open. She wondered if it was Nel coming back to play or if it would be more food.

At the thought of food her stomach grumbled. She was being stubborn before, not eating much of the food they brought her but now she wished she hadn't.

Who came through the door was not what she was expecting at all.

Ulquiorra came in as if nothing had happened, as if the last time they saw each other wasn't after a lot of yelling and hateful words.

She gulped.

"Woman."

She only continued to stare at him- his eyes seemed to be burning a hole through her head.

"You wanted to see me?"

Orihime wondered why he would say such a thing. It was true that she wanted to see him but she never told anyone that. Then it dawned on her that it was most likely Nel since she had asked Nel about his whereabouts.

"Um-" now that he was actually there it was hard for her to spit out the words. She felt like saying sorry was just not going to be enough.

He stayed silent, as if trying to study her every move and thought.

"I wanted to apologize."

There it was- a small flicker of something in his face. It was gone before he spoke. "Nonsense, you are wasting my time."

He turned to leave but Orihime didn't want him too, not just yet. She felt like he was actually mad at her even though he hid it so well.

"Wait, please…" her voice was small and pathetic but he did stop.

Once again they are filled with just silence before Orihime worked up the courage to speak again.

"It's a burn you know."

Ulquiorra turned to look at her and she knew why. Her words were so random and out of the blue that any other person would have been completely confused. She knew he wasn't though- it was one of his many traits, to understand things like that so quickly.

She was finally answering his question so long ago, the one about the scar on her back. She felt it was only fair that she share something about her past since she had learned that he was once a human.

"I was still really young and living with my parents and older brother." She walked up closer to him, wanting to make sure he wouldn't leave.

Ulquiorra was surprised she was telling him this right now. There was no reason for her to do it unless she was just so lonely that she would do anything to keep him there.

"You asked me why I would have a scar when I have such powers. The reason is because I wasn't born with them. They just showed up out of the blue one day."

Orihime felt her hands shaking. She hated this story- it was something she always wanted to forget because it always brought back horrible memories.

"When I was about five my mother got mad at me. I'm not really sure why since I was too young to remember but the punishment was to pour boiling water on my back."

Orihime felt her stomach flop. She was grateful for Ulquiorra's silence right then, it made it easier to just tell her story without any interruptions. She didn't want to start crying in front of him.

"My parents hated me and as soon as my brother was old enough he took me away from that house. But before all that I went through a lot of torture. That time was one of the worst because it left a permanent mark."

Orihime chuckled darkly at the thought of her next choice of words.

"It was a month after that, when my powers woke up. I find it funny that it waited until I had one reminder of my horrible past." She gripped her arms around her body and looked away from Ulquiorra, not really wanting to see how he would react to getting all this information.

Ulquiorra just took in all that she said in silence. There really wasn't much he could do or say to it. A part of him wanted to tell her to shut up, that he didn't care to know that much but a much bigger part of him told him that would be a big mistake. He didn't want to have to face the wrath of Aizen if she were to get some damage because of the words he said. At least that was what he told himself.

Not knowing what else to do Ulquiorra said the first thing that came to mind.

"I will be taking you back to the village shortly. Someone will be by with some food before then. Be sure you eat it this time." Then he turned back around and left. This time she didn't try to stop him.

Orihime watched as he walked away. Most people would feel hurt by the way he just seemed to brush off her story but she knew better. In fact she was actually feeling a bit of relief getting that story off her chest. She had never told anyone about it before.

* * *

Ulquiorra walked down the hallways slowly, thinking about everything the woman had told him. He didn't think he was ever going to be able to understand her. Her outbursts, her anger, her random apology and then the sharing of a personal story. None of it had any real point or pattern but for some reason he couldn't just brush it aside, like he did with Nel when she acted random.

Reaching Aizen's room he knocked on the door to get let in by another lower ranked Arrancar.

"Ah, Ulquiorra, just the man I wanted to see."

Ulquiorra wanted to correct Aizen in calling him a man, he was far from being a man but he was pretty sure Aizen was aware of that and said it just to annoy him.

"You called."

After he left Orihime's room he was summoned.

Ulquiorra looked around the room to see that Gin and Tousen were in the room as well and he wondered what this could possibly be about.

"I just wanted to ask you what you think of our precious Orihime."

Ulquiorra didn't understand how his opinion of the woman mattered but decide to amuse his boss by answering.

"She is interesting- for a human."

At this, both Aizen and Gin smile widely. Tousen didn't do anything but he noticed a slight nod in his head, as if his answer was more than acceptable. Ulquiorra was starting to feel that something was up and wondered what they were planning.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


	9. Chapter 9

Finally, a chapter with some drama in it and it is longer too! I'm probably going to get a lot of mixed feelings about this. I'm really hoping most of you will like it though. This is where the rated 'M' comes in though. Sorry this took so long. My beta reader is swamped in college work. Hopefully these chapters will come out faster once she is on summer break.

**Author:** Ongaku**  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Pairing:** Ulquiorra/Orihime**  
Rating:** M**  
Summary:** Her eyes widened in shock as tears began to stream out. "I have been asleep for over 400 years? I wasn't supposed to be asleep that long!"

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

**Gravity – Chapter 09**

Orihime walked slowly back towards the village. Ulquiorra had told her the truth. They had fed her and then sent her on her way. Her small amount of time around Ulquiorra was a little awkward for some reason. She wasn't sure if it was because she had opened up to him about her scar or if it was because she knew he used to be human.

Whatever it was it was subtle, but it was there. She just wished he showed some emotion on his face so she could tell if he were feeling anything. For some reason, she really hoped it wasn't just her but she wasn't sure why. Things were pretty much back to normal though.

When he dropped her off she stood next to him for a few seconds but then finally pushed away when she realized what she was doing. She turned around to start walking but then decided to talk to him one last time before leaving. Unfortunately that was all the time he needed to disappear on her. She felt a little disappointed. She had lost the small window of opportunity and though she knew he was just around - not far from hearing her call for him - there was no point in doing so when she had no good reason to talk to him.

She knew he would not be the type to like coming around just to talk. He wouldn't show up or he would be annoyed with her all over again. She was finally starting to warm up to him and she didn't want to make him pull away even more than he already was.

Finally inside the village, Orihime knew the first thing she had to do was go check on her friends to make sure they were okay. She realized they might be mad at her for running away after such a battle but she hoped they would forgive her.

Some people stared at her, a little weary of her, but some of the usuals at the restaurant she worked at waved to her and smiled. Her mood spiked up so she smiled back and waved, putting a little skip in her step.

Her mood slowly came back down when she saw Ichigo's clinic. She was nervous, almost so nervous that she wished she hadn't eaten so much earlier. She was starting to feel a little sick to her stomach. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out she walked into the building with as much strength as she could muster.

Right away she spotted Ichigo. He was doing some small chores for the clinic. When she walked in he turned to welcome whoever it was that came in but once he realized it was her he just stared, as if she were a ghost. She took a step back, waiting for him to lash out at her but then his face broke into a genuine smile.

Orihime felt as if a great weight had just been lifted off her chest.

"You are okay. We were all so worried." He walked up to her but stopped about three feet away.

Orihime said nothing. She wasn't sure what to say. She felt horrible for everything but she also wanted to cry at his kindness. The tears began to leak out, which surprised Ichigo.

"Whoa! You are okay, aren't you? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Orihime just wiped away the tears and laughed softly. "It's nothing, I'm sorry to make you worry. I'm sorry for everything. I'm just so relieved you aren't mad at me."

Ichigo relaxed when he realized they were tears of relief. "There is no way we could be mad at you. You helped us, and saved the lives of Rukia and Renji."

Orihime wanted to remind him that they were hurt in the first place because of her but decided not too.

"Um…" Orihime started. "Is there a way we can have another meeting with everyone sometime today? I have some important things to discuss with you guys."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I- don't think that will be a problem. In fact-" he walked away to the back rooms for a few minutes and Orihime was wondering what he was doing.

He came back out shortly with a strange look on his face. "We can go round everyone up right now if that is okay with you?"

She realized why he looked so annoyed. He must have just talked to his father about leaving and then gotten an earful for it. She smiled, realizing what he was doing just for her.

"That would be great! Thank you so much!"

Ichigo looked a little embarrassed as he told her it was no big deal. Then they headed off, their first stop was Uryu's place.

1234567—

The meeting and gathering of all her new friends was pretty awkward. They all seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but she was glad they weren't mad at her.

They had all agreed to meet at Rukia's place and as the last person walked in Orihime began to feel nervous all over again.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Orihime?" Rukia had asked her as they all got situated.

Orihime looked around the room to see that everyone else was very curious as well. She swallowed, trying to calm herself down. She wasn't sure how they would react to the news.

"It's about the Hollows and Arrancars."

No one interrupted her but she could see their faces change from curious to a little surprised. She supposed it was because they weren't expecting her to talk about them again so soon.

"I found out what they are. Well, more likely what they used to be and why they became the way they are."

She went on to tell them everything she had learned. From the time the moon exploded to the moments they lived now. Their eyes went wide from the overload of information but their reactions weren't nearly as big as she expected.

Until she told them that the last Hollow they fought was actually her brother. It took her awhile to explain to them that he was not aware of his intentions, that he was actually dead but he was an angry soul. They nodded at her, trying to grasp all the information but she was beginning to wonder if they really truly believed her.

It was a little frustrating but she supposed if she had been fighting them all her life it would be hard to look at them as if they were once human.

When she was finally finished they all sat in silence for a little while until Rukia spoke up.

"This is a lot to take in and it is a shocker but I don't really think this is going to change anything."

Orihime gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it doesn't mean we will stop fighting them just because we know what they are now."

Orihime looked around the room again to see everyone agreeing with Rukia. She felt a little out of place right then. "So, you don't even want to see if there is another way?"

"I don't really see how there can possibly be another way." Rukia continued. "They are attacking us, so all we can do is fight back."

Orihime felt sad. She knew that Rukia had a good point but she just wished there were something she could do about it. She was hoping they would be more into finding a new way to take care of them. She should have known better.

"I understand."

Rukia patted Orihime's shoulder for a brief second but it was all Orihime could do to keep from crying. She wasn't entirely sure why it made her feel so sad. Perhaps she was hoping she had more of a point to being brought back to life in this time besides being a weird pet to the Arrancars.

Feeling like the conversation was over, most everyone decided to leave. They all thanked her for the information but somehow she got the feeling they wished they had never known. She felt worthless all over again.

On the way back to her place Ichigo caught up with her, calling out her name.

Orihime felt her heart beat quicken. She wondered what he could possibly want from her.

"Hey."

Orihime stopped walking and nodded to show she heard.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about your brother. I mean, I was the one who finished him off so I will understand if you have hard feelings towards me."

Orihime was shocked. She had forgotten that Ichigo was the one to end it all with her brother. She thought back to it and wondered why she didn't feel so angry but the answer eluded her.

"Of course I don't. After all you were just fighting to protect your friends and family. There was no way you could have known."

Orihime was starting to feel a little tired, her body ached and her head throbbed a bit. She was also starting to get incredibly sad when she realized she would be going back to her home - all alone - to really think about all that just happened.

Ichigo smiled with relief. "I also wanted to thank you for saving Rukia's life."

A twinge of jealousy rose up in Orihime's chest but right away she felt disgusted with herself. It was Rukia that jumped in front of her to take the fatal blow. Rukia was her friend and she shouldn't have been feeling jealous of her.

"You're welcome, but she wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't because of me in the first place."

Ichigo shook his head at her statement and then told her he better be off to help close down the clinic. Orihime waved goodbye at him as he walked away but as soon as she turned around she felt the warm tears gliding down her face.

She hurt and she had no idea how to overcome the deep depression.

* * *

Many days had passed since Orihime's arrival back in the village. Things were pretty much back to normal with her job and her friends. She had a great time talking to Rangiku and even went over to her house once for dinner with Toshiro. She loved seeing the way they acted around each other and Rangiku was really different when she was drunk.

She wasn't really sure what to make of drunk Rangiku though.

Orihime had also spent some time hanging out with her first friend, Chad. He was such a quiet guy but he would always listen to her without judgment. It was nice to be able to just talk and sit in silence with a warm presence from time to time. She would tell him about her past life, leaving out some of the stuff he would never understand but explaining to him about school life.

Sometimes – when she was talking to Chad – she would get reminded of Ulquiorra. It was mostly because they were both pretty quite only Ulquiorra had a very cold air around him, or maybe a completely void one. Chad was obviously a warm hearted person compared to Ulquiorra but for some reason Orihime couldn't get her mind off of him.

At one point she asked Chad what made the Arrancar so horrible to them. He had told her that the Arrancar's home use to be their best and most thriving town. He also mentioned that in the past they never worked in a group until Aizen came into the picture.

He made them into his army and just took over the place, forcing all human life out.

Orihime was surprised to learn all about it. She knew of all the different wars from Aizen but of course he left out the bad details about himself. At least this way she was able to hear about the wars from both sides of the story, no matter how skewed each one might have been based on biased opinion.

She told him that she really didn't think the Arrancars were all that bad and he looked at her as if she had grown a second head. She was telling the truth though, most of the time the Arrancars just acted on instinct- like a wild animal. While it was horrible to be attacked by one it didn't mean they were evil.

Somehow she felt that they might have left most people alone - except for their source of food - if Aizen hadn't come along.

With the mention of Aizen, Orihime started to think about him and his intentions. He just gave her the creeps but for some reason she couldn't completely write him off. She just couldn't understand why he wanted her to be his queen so badly.

As the days continued on, Orihime started to feel more and more out of place. It almost made her think of high school when some mean boy had looked at her with her group of friends and said 'There is always someone who doesn't fit in.' That was really hard on her to hear, especially when none of her friend really stuck up for her, except Tatsuki.

She knew the reason this time though. It was because she had such a different take on the Arrancar and Hollows than they did. She didn't believe the Arrancar were that evil or that bad and she was a sympathizer with the Hollows. A lot of the time she would just try to stay clear of the topic because she knew she made her friends uncomfortable.

She also knew she was probably rubbing salt into all their wounds when talking like that because they had suffered so much heartache and death from the Arrancar and Hollows.

Orihime sat at one of the tables in the restaurant she worked in. It was at an odd hour so no one was there yet. Rangiku had even left to get some much needed chores done. It gave her too much time to think so she got up and got a rag to at least look like she was doing something and hopefully get her mind off the Arrancars.

It failed though. She kept thinking about Ulquiorra and his reactions to her because of the gold bracelet she was wearing. It jingled and gleamed in the sunlight as she tried to clean. She was surprised that he hadn't come by in over a month to take her away. She was also surprised that there hadn't been any hollows. A lot of the other villagers felt the same way. For some reason she wanted to meet with Ulquiorra again but she didn't know why. There was something about him that she just wanted to touch. Something he would never let anyone else see or touch but she knew was there.

She closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind. The first thing to come to mind was his deep green eyes. They were very startling and very pretty in her opinion. She wanted to look at them more even though it was a little nerve-racking to be eye to eye with him. She thought back to the lines under his eyes that made her think of tear marks. She wondered if he had them because he was actually very sad. It wouldn't be far fetched since he used to be human and had to suffer through so much pain. Aizen had told her that they didn't remember their human lives by now but Orihime was starting to wonder if that was really the truth.

"Hey girl!"

Orihime jumped slightly at Rangiku's sudden voice. She opened her eyes to look at her friend and smiled.

"Sorry to have startled you. What were you so deep in thought about?"

Orihime felt her face flush.

Rangiku's eyebrow went up. "Were you thinking something dirty?"

Orihime sat up from her chair quickly and tried to regain her composure. "No! I was-" she contemplated telling her the truth and stuck with a half truth. "I was just wondering when the next time will be when the Arrancars come get me."

Rangiku gave her a sad face. "I hope not for a very long time."

Orihime just nodded her head and agreement. She would never tell them the truth that she actually wanted to go back.

* * *

Orihime walked down the streets towards Ichigo's clinic and home. It had been awhile since she had stopped by to talk to him. The air around her smelled really nice. It was cooling off slightly as the sun was starting to set. She wondered if it was getting a little cooler at night now because it was actually supposed to be the winter season. She would never know for sure because she had no calendar. She did find it kind of good that they would have a slight temperature change besides scorching heat.

Of course, that was going to make bathing a little tougher if it actually got a lot colder. She hummed thinking about the conversations she would have with Ichigo. She wanted ask him about how cold the nights could get of course, but she also wanted to confirm some things with him.

She had been feeling that he would be the one to put her mood back to being happy. He was like her night in shining armor- the guy that would be there to help her feel better about herself and maybe even something more in the future. She also wanted him to be the one to take her mind off Ulquiorra.

She blushed slightly when she thought of that and then lightly hit her head. She needed to get those kinds of thoughts out of her head right away if she didn't want to be completely awkward around him.

Finally reaching his house, she saw a dim light coming from a small window and when she peaked inside, her heart dropped. No one else was inside except for Ichigo and Rukia. She was a little sad that she wouldn't be able to spend any time around Ichigo by herself but she started to make her way through the door anyway when she heard her name.

She stopped and decided to eavesdrop instead.

"I wish Orihime would stop talking about the Arrancars and Hollows."

Orihime could tell this was Rukia's voice. So she was right, she was making them uncomfortable.

"It's kind of weird. I mean, she really needs to stop seeing them as human even if they used to be."

Orihime felt hurt, she couldn't believe she would speak so harshly about her while she wasn't there. Finally Ichigo spoke up.

"Yeah, you are right but I won't be the one telling her that."

His words didn't make her feel any better- in fact she was starting to feel a lot worse. So much for her Knight in shining armor- he was starting to look more and more like a guy in aluminum foil.

"I understand. Orihime makes it kind of hard to talk to her."

At Rukia's recent words Orihime couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She couldn't believe she made them feel that way. Her heart felt like it was crumbling as she thought back to how she tried her best to seem friendly and open.

It seemed as though her life was destined to stay the same no matter what time period. She was forever to be an outcast.

Just as Orihime was about to run off she heard Rukia say something to Ichigo to make her heart stop.

"I think she may have feelings for you."

Orihime couldn't believe it. Had she been that obvious? She was starting to feel furious that Rukia would tell him something so personal like that.

All anger disappeared when she heard Ichigo's response.

"You are crazy! Even if she does have some sort of feelings for me it is probably because I was kind to her when she first got here. She would get over it quickly- besides, I don't like her like that, I like you."

Orihime could have sworn her heart was now completely turned to stone. She turned to get a little peek and saw the two of them kissing. She couldn't believe how oblivious she had been to it all. She felt so stupid and so humiliated. She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't think she could force herself to face them- or anyone else- again.

Finally running off Orihime wanted to get as far away from the village as possible. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings though and ran straight into Renji.

He grabbed her before she could fall back but seemed to get really uncomfortable when he realized her state.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Orihime didn't look him in the eye. She didn't want to embarrass herself even more.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little homesick is all- I will be fine." She then darted away from him, continuing her run before he could stop her.

Feeling at a loss, Renji wondered what went on in Ichigo's clinic. It was obvious that was where she had come from. He halfway wanted to run after her but he was uncomfortable with it so he figured he would just ask Ichigo and Rukia about it.

* * *

"Orihime is such a sweet person though. I feel bad for her but I'm glad she is here and is our friend." Rukia said a few minutes after her embrace with Ichigo.

Ichigo relaxed a bit but nodded his head. "Yeah, I wish we could do more for her to make her feel comfortable. I sometimes get the feeling that she doesn't think she fits in."

Rukia nodded sadly.

"Hey you two love birds!" Renji yelled out, surprising the both of them and making them pull apart.

They looked at him embarrassed. He knew that they hated to show their relationship in front of other people.

"The funniest thing, as I was walking here I happened to run into Orihime. Thing is, she seemed pretty upset about something. Did you guys say anything weird to her?"

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other with a surprised expression.

Renji was starting to put two and two together.

Both Rukia and Ichigo wondered to themselves what part of their conversation she had heard, realizing that it probably didn't sound too kind.

They all agreed it would be a good thing to go looking for her right away.

* * *

Orihime lungs were on fire and her legs were starting to feel like jello. She had been running so hard and so fast for such a long time now that it was just pure emotional drive keeping her going.

Feeling like she was far enough out of the village now, Orihime fell to the ground, panting and trying her hardest not to puke. She knew it was a terrible thing to do. Sitting after running for so long would only make her feel worse but she just didn't care.

The sun was nearly gone now, with just a hint of the orange sky left.

She sat there and cried her eyes out. She held nothing back knowing that no one would hear her except for any nearby hollows and Ulquiorra.

Taking a deep breath she raised her voice to call out Ulquiorra's name.

He showed up quicker than she expected, almost as if he had been waiting for her to call him. It somehow made her angry to think this. Wasn't he supposed to be the one to call for her? Why had he left her alone all those days?

Feelings she never knew she had started to spin out of control. It was like whatever small piece of string that was holding together her sanity had finally snapped.

"I'm so sick of this!" she yelled at him but he didn't even flinch.

"Why can't I ever fit in anywhere? Why am I always singled out and excluded?" Orihime was shaking all over. She wanted him to respond but he just stared at her as if she was a TV set on mute.

"Why don't you ever change!" with all her might she slapped him across the face, making his head turn slightly to the side. She knew it was a stupid thing to do. He could kill her in an instant but she wanted him to do something, even if it resulted in her death.

Dropping to her knees - because he still hadn't done or said anything - Orihime began to feel numb all over.

"That is because you belong with us."

Orihime looked up to see him looking down at her with the exact same facial expression he always wore. If she didn't know his voice she would have thought someone else had just spoke because he showed no signs of ever talking.

His words started to sink in a bit though. He might have a point, she was a stranger and an outcast but compared to them she wasn't anything weird. She even seemed to be treated special, which was something she was not use to at all except from her brother.

Orihime slowly got up from the floor and clutched onto Ulquiorra's clothes. He did nothing, just let her do what she pleased. Slowly, and carefully, she put her hand up to his face and was surprised by how hard - but yet - warm it was.

"Woman, what are you doing?"

Orihime ignored his question because she knew he wouldn't get it even if she did answer. She didn't really get it herself but for some reason the only way she was going to be stopped was if he threw her off of him.

She put her lips on his chin and decided it felt like kissing a warm cement wall. Ulquiorra's throat mumbled in a slight growl with irritation but he still hadn't pulled her away.

"Stop now."

His voice was demanding as usual but Orihime was determined to get some emotion out of him. She wasn't going to stop just because he told her to.

She unzipped his shirt, remembering where his hollow hole was. She was strangely curious about it. She did it quickly before he could stop her and looked through the hole. She reached for it, but Ulquiorra grabbed her arm – hard – before she could actually touch it.

She winced at the slight pain but it wasn't enough to make her cry out. She looked back up at his face to see he was now angry. She was starting to feel a little scared but intrigued as well.

"This is your last warning, Woman."

Orihime pulled her arm away but instead of stopping, she then reached for it with her mouth and licked the inside of his hole. It was warm like the rest of him and there was absolutely no taste - not even dirt - like she was expecting. It was also surprisingly very smooth, like glass.

Without warning Orihime was forced down on the ground, painfully. She gasped a bit as the air was knocked out of her for a split second and the rocks from the dirt dug into her arms and legs. Rage was surrounding Ulquiorra and Orihime know she had gotten her wish. He growled in an animal-like manner making Orihime feel like his prey as her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She wasn't scared though, which was really stupid. She felt more excited instead of being afraid for her life.

Ulquiorra was overcome with an anger he couldn't control. He didn't understand why she had such an effect on him. He prided himself on not letting many things get to him. He wasn't supposed to be feeling anger, and most of all, lust. It made him want to take her without any concern for her well being but it also made him want to kill her just for making him feel that way.

He wanted to ravage her with no remorse, break her body and soul. She made him so incredibly hungry, which was dangerous for her soul. He could accidently kill her even without thinking about it.

"You are such a stupid human." He spat at her, his eye color slowly changing from green to yellow and black. "You are just asking to be killed." If she wanted to be punished so badly he would gladly do so.

He had a fire in his eyes and Orihime could tell he wanted her. The light glow in the sky was now completely gone and all she had left was the moonlight. She struggled, starting to regret her actions but then found it futile. Still, she didn't feel scared. She just stared at him, as his skin glowed lightly in the night and his eyes shined with the lust he felt for her. It made her wonder if she were some sort of masochist because she could feel her own body getting excited.

Calming down, she realized that she might have wanted this all along. It might have been why she couldn't stop thinking about him and got anxious waiting for him to come get her. She looked at Ulquiorra in the eyes, no matter how scary they were, and he stared down at her, panting with rage and lust.

Then she smiled, which took him by great surprise. "It's okay, do what you want with me." She couldn't believe her own words coming from her mouth.

Ulquiorra's shock didn't last long before his animal instincts took over. He ripped her clothes off in one easy swoop, making her gasp in surprise and leaving the only remaining item on her, the gold bracelet. It took all he could to control himself to not accidently kill her and take her soul. The fire in him was almost too much to take. He licked her skin below her chin and loved the taste.

She moaned a bit and arched her back up which didn't help the situation at all. His long tongue trailed around her breasts and nipples making Orihime squirm. He placed his mouth over her breast and began to suck. Orihime didn't know what to do. She wanted to grab for him but he was still holding down her arms. After a while he got tired of her breast and slowly licked his way down her stomach to her womanhood.

Coming to her satiny box he inhaled her sent, getting excited all over again. Orihime was breathing really heavy, he noticed, but it didn't faze him in the slightest. He licked her and she moaned, giving a shiver all over.

He worked on her, prepping her as much as he could and liking her taste more and more, but he was starting to lose his cool. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to have her.

Orihime was in such bliss, she had no idea that someone could make her feel like this. She panted and tried to hold in her noises to the best of her ability but at times it was just too much. Just when she felt like she was about to come he stopped. She looked at him and saw what he was getting ready to do. She gulped in anticipation, remembering what she had heard about girls' first times.

He positioned himself and looked down at her face, releasing his grip on her arms. He noticed how red her face was and how heavy she was breathing. He also noticed that her eyes were glossed over as if she were thinking about something. He didn't really know what she was thinking but he knew it must have been very busy in her head.

Without much thought he dived into her causing Orihime to scream out loud from the sudden pain. He began to pump into her, slowly at first, but faster and faster with each thrust. She groaned in pain but it soon turned to pleasure and without even thinking she grabbed for him, holding him tightly and reaching up to meet his thrusts.

He was surprised by her sudden participation but found that he actually like having her cling to him like that.

Orihime was crying though, crying because she was losing the rest of her little innocence to something that wasn't even human, and liking it.

The climax came hard for the both of them, making them shudder from the adrenaline. Ulquiorra's eye color started to go back to his normal piercing green color as he slowly started to come back to his senses.

Orihime watched his face as it slowly went back to being blank, but before it did she could have sworn that he almost looked scared. She didn't know what to make of it. She wanted to get up but she was way too sore and in pain to move so she just laid there. She wanted to reach up to him so badly - to keep him from pulling away - but he moved off her, out of reaching distance.

Her eyes began to water up again as she feared he would go back to his old self. She wanted to hold him and comfort him even though she was probably the one who needed it the most.

Ulquiorra couldn't believe what he had just done. He didn't understand how he wasn't able to keep himself in check and now the one job he was suppose to do was ruined. He was supposed to keep Orihime from harms way, but now he was the one doing her harm.

He took off his coat and put it over her and the picked her up. Knowing he would probably get in lots of trouble for it, he had to take her back to Las Noches and be sure she was okay.

Orihime faded in and out of sleep on their trip to Las Noches this time, but she was determined to stay awake. When they reached their destination he didn't set her down - which she was glad for - and took her to a room she had never been to before.

Some of the lower ranked Arrancars were there but they said nothing, just bowed their heads as they walked by. She was glad for this because she didn't want to have to deal with all the questions, she also didn't want Ulquiorra to get in trouble.

Orihime was surprised that the room he had taken her to had a shower room. She wondered if the water was still running but she didn't have to ask because he had turned it on. He set her down next to it and Orihime watched him closely.

"Wash off, I will get you some clothes."

Orihime just nodded her head and watched as he walked away. She didn't know why she was feeling a little timid being naked in front of him now, after all they had just done. She gave her body a look over and saw that she was already starting to heal from any kind of wounds, such as bite marks and scratches from the rocks and dirt. She wondered if her hymen would heal as well and hoped that it wouldn't.

She knew that even if it did, she was no longer the same. She didn't feel regretful though. Instead she felt that this was a time for great change.

Orihime stepped out of the shower and had begun to dry herself off with a towel when Ulquiorra came back in. She covered herself quickly and if he noticed he doesn't say anything. She put on the clothes quickly, glad to be covered again but still wondered why there were so many clothes that fit her there.

Once dressed, Orihime turned around to look Ulquiorra in the eyes and took a deep breath. "Please take me to Lord Aizen."

Ulquiorra was a little taken aback by her sudden request and he wondered if she was going to complain to him about what he just did. He got over the shock quickly but he wasn't happy. There wasn't much he could do about it though.

Orihime tried to read his face but there was nothing she could pick up. It hurt her heart so she decided she needed to close it off. A small feeling of shame hit her like a rock when she realized that what she did might not have been a good thing at all. She was pretty sure that Ulquiorra had no real feelings for her so she didn't want to get attached to him.

Feeling almost angry again, Orihime knew her decision to see Aizen would be the right one. She needed to stay under his skin because she knew – no matter how she tried – that he would be forever under hers.

Still, she didn't want him to get hurt. She knew that if Aizen figured out what he did he would probably kill him. So there was only one thing she could do.

Accept his offer and become his queen.

* * *

**To Be Continued.**


End file.
